A judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria sitting in Abuja has granted the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission permission to access and analyse several electronic devices recovered from the residence of former Kaduna State governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai.
The order was issued on Thursday by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik after considering an ex parte application filed by the anti-graft agency. The application was presented in court by ICPC counsel, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, who asked the court to allow investigators to open and examine the devices for forensic analysis as part of an ongoing probe involving the former governor.
According to court proceedings, the devices were among items recovered by ICPC operatives during a search carried out at El-Rufai’s residence in Abuja. Investigators believe the electronic equipment could contain information relevant to the commission’s investigation.
In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik authorised the commission to access and review the contents of the devices. The order allows investigators to inspect and extract digital evidence including public documents, WhatsApp messages, text conversations, photographs, call logs and other forms of stored data.
Among the electronic items listed in the court order are several storage devices and mobile phones, including Sony, Toshiba and Transcend storage units, a Samsung smartphone, a Nokia mobile phone, a Blackberry device and a Google IDEOS phone. The list also includes a Samsung storage device, a Remarkable tablet, an Apple MacBook Pro laptop, a Seagate FreeAgent Desk external drive, a ZTE phone, multiple flash drives and a microcell memory card.
The case is registered as suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/499/2026 between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and El-Rufai. Justice Abdulmalik held that the anti-corruption agency was legally entitled to inspect items seized during an investigation for the purpose of forensic examination.
The development comes amid a separate legal challenge initiated by the former governor. El-Rufai has filed another suit before the same court contesting the legality of the search conducted at his residence and demanding ₦1 billion in damages.
In the fundamental rights enforcement case, he named the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, the Chief Magistrate of the Magistrates’ Court of the Federal Capital Territory, the Nigeria Police Force and the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation as respondents.
Through his lawyer, Oluwole Iyamu (SAN), El-Rufai argued that the search carried out at his residence on Mambilla Street in the Aso Drive area of Abuja on February 19 violated his constitutional rights. He maintains 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 Nigerian Constitution.
The former governor is also asking the court to rule that any evidence obtained during the search should be declared inadmissible in legal proceedings against him.
The court’s latest decision allowing the ICPC to examine the seized devices marks a significant step in the investigation. As the legal battle unfolds, both the forensic analysis and the pending rights enforcement suit could play a crucial role in determining the direction of the case.
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