By Adesakin Adefemi
A 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 Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna.
The order was granted on Thursday following an ex parte motion filed by the ICPC.
The devices, seized from el-Rufai’s Abuja residence on February 19, include a Sony HD-EGS storage device, a 1TB Transcend storage device, a Toshiba storage device, and several mobile phones and tablets.
The ICPC had sought the court’s permission to access the devices for inspection and forensic examination as part of an ongoing investigation involving the former governor.
Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge, granted the order, allowing the ICPC to conduct forensic analysis and data extraction from the devices.
The commission had listed the devices in its application, which was filed in the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against el-Rufai.
El-Rufai had challenged the search of his residence, claiming that the search warrant issued by a magistrate court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was invalid. He had also sought a court order to rule that any evidence obtained from the search is inadmissible in any proceeding against him.
The former governor had joined the chief magistrate who issued the order, the inspector-general of police (IGP), and the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) as respondents in the suit.
He is seeking N1 billion as general, exemplary and aggravated damages for alleged violations of his fundamental rights.
The ICPC had obtained the search warrant as part of its investigation into allegations of corruption against el-Rufai. The commission has been investigating the former governor’s activities during his tenure as governor of Kaduna State.
The court’s decision to grant the ICPC permission to analyse the devices is a significant development in the case. It will allow the commission to gather evidence and potentially build a case against el-Rufai.
The case has sparked intense interest in Nigeria, with many people following the developments closely. El-Rufai has been a prominent figure in Nigerian politics, and the allegations against him have been widely reported.
The ICPC has been cracking down on corruption in Nigeria, and the case against el-Rufai is seen as a test of the commission’s resolve to tackle corruption at the highest levels.
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