Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed December 2 for judgment in a N1 billion fundamental rights suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and other respondents.
The judge set the date after counsel to the parties adopted their respective court processes. When the matter was called, El-Rufai’s counsel was absent. Justice Abdulmalik consequently deemed all processes filed by the former governor adopted.
ICPC’s counsel, Abdul Mohammed, SAN, identified and adopted the commission’s processes, urging the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
The lawyer representing the Inspector-General of Police, ACP Ezekiel Rimamsomte, and Maimuna Lami-Shiru, Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law, who appeared for the Attorney-General of the Federation, also adopted their respective processes and asked the court to dismiss the case.
During the proceedings, Ubong Akpan, counsel to the former governor, arrived in court and apologized for his lateness. When he sought the court’s permission to adopt his processes, the judge informed him that they had already been deemed adopted.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter until December 2 for judgment. El-Rufai is seeking N1 billion in damages from the ICPC, the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The former governor instituted the suit over alleged violations of his fundamental rights by ICPC and police operatives following a search of his Abuja residence on February 19.
He asked the court to declare that the search of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, at about 2 p.m. on February 19 constituted a gross violation of his fundamental rights.
He argued that the operation breached his rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and privacy as guaranteed under Sections 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the Constitution.
He also sought an order compelling the ICPC and the Inspector-General of Police to immediately return all items seized from his residence, alongside a detailed inventory of the recovered property.
Additionally, he demanded N1 billion in general, exemplary and aggravated damages, among other reliefs.
Also Read: Court adjourns El-Rufai’s N1bn suit against ICPC
In its counter-affidavit, the ICPC said it received a petition against El-Rufai and commenced an investigation, which led to the search of his residence.
The commission maintained that its operatives acted under a valid search warrant issued on February 18 and executed on February 19 between 1:37 p.m. and 3:56 p.m. at 12 Mambila Street, Asokoro, Abuja.
It said its officials were accompanied by police personnel during the operation, which was witnessed by El-Rufai’s wife, Hadiza El-Rufai, and his son, Mohammed El-Rufai. The ICPC also listed items it said were recovered from the residence and urged the court to dismiss the suit.
In his counter-affidavit, the Inspector-General of Police, through Inspector Ewa Anthony, argued that he had statutory powers to detect, arrest, investigate and prosecute offenders.
He maintained that the search was conducted pursuant to a warrant issued by a competent court and rejected El-Rufai’s contention that the warrant was invalid, insisting that it was a genuine court order.
The police chief further argued that the former governor was attempting to use the court to shield himself from security investigations and prosecution. He consequently urged the court to dismiss the suit.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, in a counter-affidavit filed by Lami-Shiru, denied being privy to the facts of the alleged incident and maintained that the ICPC and the Inspector-General of Police acted within their statutory powers.
He argued that the items seized by the first and second respondents were taken to enable them to conclude their investigation into the former governor.
The AGF also described the suit as an abuse of court process, arguing that El-Rufai had two pending cases on the same subject matter before the FCT High Court.
He further contended that the suit lacked merit, saying there was no legal or evidential justification for the claims and reliefs sought. He urged the court to dismiss the case in its entirety.
CHANNELSTV
