The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) permission to access and analyse electronic devices recovered from the residence of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as part of an ongoing investigation.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik gave the order on Thursday after granting an ex-parte motion filed by the ICPC through its counsel, Osuobeni Akponimisingha. The application sought the court’s approval to inspect and carry out forensic analysis on electronic devices seized during a search of the former governor’s Abuja home.
Akponimisingha told the court that the order was necessary to enable the anti-graft agency conduct forensic examination and extraction of digital data from the devices in furtherance of its investigation into allegations against El-Rufai.
The case is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/499/2026 between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai.
Court filings show that investigators recovered several electronic gadgets from the former governor’s residence at No. 12 Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja during a search conducted on February 19.
The items include a Sony HD-EGS storage device, a 1TB Transcend storage device, Toshiba storage device, Samsung mobile phone, Nokia N95 phone, Blackberry device and a Google IDEOS phone.
Others listed are a Samsung storage device (SP0802N), a Remarkable tablet, an Apple MacBook Pro laptop, a Seagate FreeAgent external hard drive, a ZTE mobile phone, about 10 flash drives and a microcell memory card.
ICPC court documents also indicate that investigators seized additional materials such as business registration documents, loan records approved by the Kaduna State House of Assembly between 2015 and 2023, property documents and corporate compliance records believed to be relevant to the investigation.
The agency stated that all items were catalogued and sealed pending forensic analysis.
Meanwhile, El-Rufai has filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit challenging the legality of the search of his residence.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, filed on February 20 through his lawyer, Oluwole Iyamu (SAN), the former governor is seeking several reliefs from the court.
He is asking the court to declare that the search carried out by ICPC operatives and police officers at about 2 p.m. on February 19 violated his constitutional rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the 1999 Constitution.
El-Rufai also contends that the search warrant issued by an FCT Magistrate Court was defective, arguing that it lacked specificity and probable cause and contained drafting errors.
Consequently, he is seeking an order declaring that any evidence obtained during the search should be inadmissible in court, as well as an injunction preventing authorities from using the seized materials in any investigation or prosecution.
The former governor is further asking the court to compel the ICPC and the police to return all items taken from his residence and to pay him ₦1 billion in general, exemplary and aggravated damages for the alleged violation of his rights.
In counter-affidavits filed before the court, the ICPC and the Nigeria Police Force maintained that the operation was conducted lawfully.
According to the commission, its operatives executed the search warrant issued on February 18 and carried out the operation between 1:37 p.m. and 3:56 p.m. on February 19.
The anti-graft agency said the search was conducted in the presence of El-Rufai’s wife, Hadiza El-Rufai, and his son, Mohammed El-Rufai, and that the exercise complied with legal procedures.
The police also argued that they acted within their statutory powers to investigate and prosecute offences, insisting the warrant used for the search was valid.
The Federal High Court has adjourned hearing in El-Rufai’s fundamental rights suit against the ICPC and other respondents to March 25 to allow parties to regularise their processes.
The outcome of both the investigation and the pending court challenge is expected to determine whether materials seized from the former governor’s residence can be used in any future prosecution.
