The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a N1bn fundamental rights suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over the search of his Abuja residence by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.

Fagbemi, through a lawyer from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Maimuna Lami-Shiru, urged Justice Joyce Abdulmalik to dismiss the suit, arguing that El-Rufai had failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action to justify the reliefs he was seeking.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, has the ICPC and Inspector-General of Police as respondents.

El-Rufai had instituted the action to challenge the legality of the search warrant used to search his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on February 19.

The former governor is seeking a declaration that the warrant used for the search was invalid, null and void, alleging that it contained drafting errors, ambiguity in its execution parameters, was overbroad and lacked probable cause.

He also asked the court to declare that the search and seizure of items from his residence violated his fundamental rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the Constitution.

El-Rufai is further seeking the return of items allegedly seized during the operation, an order preventing the respondents from using the seized materials in any investigation or prosecution, and N1bn in general, exemplary and aggravated damages.

At Monday’s proceedings, the AGF informed the court that he had filed a counter-affidavit challenging the competence of the suit.

He maintained that the ICPC and police acted within the law when they conducted the search.

The ICPC has similarly maintained that the operation followed a petition against El-Rufai and was conducted pursuant to a valid search warrant issued by a competent court. The police also argued that its officers had acted within their statutory powers and complied with applicable procedures.

The AGF also contended that the former governor had failed to establish a reasonable cause of action warranting the reliefs sought and urged the court to dismiss the case.

Justice Abdulmalik granted the application to regularise the AGF’s counter-affidavit and adjourned the matter until October 27, 2026, to enable El-Rufai’s counsel, Akinyemi Aremu, to respond.