A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday adjourned proceedings in a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai after procedural issues arose during the hearing.
The trial judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, declined a request to stand down the matter, citing another official engagement, and instead adjourned the case to March 31 for the hearing of pending motions.
During proceedings, counsel to the applicant, Ugochukwu Nnakwu, informed the court that the second respondent had not been served and that an application for substituted service had already been filed. The judge, however, directed him to identify the specific chief magistrate referenced in the application.
Nnakwu accepted the court’s observation and requested an adjournment to regularise the process. Lawyers representing other respondents, including counsel for the Nigeria Police Force Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation, did not oppose the request.
Justice Abdulmalik subsequently ordered that a hearing notice be issued and served on the second respondent before the next sitting.
In the substantive suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026 and filed on February 20, El-Rufai is seeking N1 billion in damages against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Chief Magistrate of the FCT, the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
He is asking the court to declare that a search of his Abuja residence violated his constitutional rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and privacy, and to rule that any evidence obtained during the exercise is inadmissible in court.
El-Rufai also requested an order restraining the respondents from using items recovered during the search and directing that all seized materials be returned with a detailed inventory.
In response, the ICPC said the search followed a valid warrant issued on February 18 and executed the following day, adding that its operatives carried out the exercise alongside police officers and in the presence of El-Rufai’s wife and son. The police similarly maintained that due process was followed and urged the court to dismiss the suit.
