Abuja, Nigeria — A Federal High Court in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, has granted permission to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Nigeria’s federal anti corruption agency, to examine electronic devices recovered from the home of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court issued the order on Thursday while ruling on an ex parte application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission. The motion was presented before the court by the commission’s lawyer, Dr. Osuobeni Akponimisingha.
The court ruling allows investigators to inspect, conduct forensic examinations, and extract digital data from a collection of electronic items seized during a search of El-Rufai’s residence in Asokoro, a high security district in Abuja within the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria.
Okay News reports that the anti corruption agency argued that analysing the devices is necessary to support its ongoing investigation involving the former governor, who led Kaduna State in northwestern Nigeria from 2015 to 2023.
Among the items recovered during the search are a Sony HD-EGS storage device, an ITB Transcend storage device, a Toshiba storage device, a Samsung mobile phone, a Nokia mobile phone N958GB, a Blackberry mobile phone device and a Google IDEOS phone.
Other devices include a Samsung storage device SPO802N, a Remarkable tablet, an Apple MacBook Pro computer, a Seagate Freeagent Desk external drive, a ZTE mobile phone, 10 flash drives and a Microcell memory card.
In granting the request, Justice Abdulmalik stated in the court order:
“It is hereby ordered as follows: That the applicant, i.e. the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is forthwith granted access to: (1) SONY HD-EGS Storage Device (2) ITB TRANSCEND STORAGE DEVICE (3) TOSHIBA STORAGE DEVICE (4) SAMSUNG MOBILE PHONE (5) NOKIA MOBILE PHONE-N958GB (6) BLACK BERRY MOBILE PHONE DEVICE (7) GOOGLE IDEOS PHONE (8) SAMSUNG STORAGE DEVICE-SPO802N (9) REMARKABLE TABLET (10) Apple Macbook Pro-Black (11) SEAGATE FREEAGENT DESK EXTERNAL DRIVE (12) ZTE Mobile Phone (13) 10 Pieces of Flash Drives (14) Microcell Memory Card of the respondent (Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai) for inspection, forensic examination, forensic extraction of data i.e. public documents, WhatsApp conversations, text messages, pictures, call logs and related information and analyse same forensically or otherwise from the said electronic devices which were seized in the course of investigation for purpose of investigation activity.”
The development comes as El-Rufai continues to challenge the legality of the search conducted at his home. The former governor has filed a lawsuit at the same Federal High Court contesting the search warrant used by investigators and seeking financial compensation.
In the suit, which carries the reference number FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, El-Rufai named several respondents. They include the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, the Chief Magistrate of the Magistrate Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja, the Inspector General of Police, who heads the Nigeria Police Force, and the Attorney General of the Federation, the chief legal officer of the federal government of Nigeria.
El-Rufai is asking the court to declare that the search warrant issued on Tuesday, February 4, 2026, by the Chief Magistrate of the Magistrate Court of the Federal Capital Territory was invalid.
He argues that the warrant lacked specific details about the items investigators were permitted to seize and contained drafting errors that made it legally defective.
According to the lawsuit, investigators from the anti corruption commission and officers of the Nigeria Police Force executed the warrant at about 2:00 pm West African Time (WAT, GMT+1) on Wednesday, February 19, 2026, at El-Rufai’s residence located at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive in Abuja.
The former governor claims that the search violated several protections guaranteed under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including the rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and privacy.
He is therefore asking the court to award ₦1,000,000,000 (about $625,000) as general, exemplary and aggravated damages against the respondents for what he described as unlawful search, seizure of property and reputational harm.
El-Rufai further argues that the warrant violated legal provisions under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission Act 2000, which regulate how search warrants should be obtained and executed in Nigeria.
He contends that the warrant lacked clear descriptions of the items to be seized and failed to demonstrate reasonable grounds for suspicion as required by law. According to him, this made the search unlawful and caused humiliation and distress.
The case is continuing before the Federal High Court in Abuja as the court considers both the anti corruption agency’s investigation and El-Rufai’s challenge to the legality of the search.
