A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday disregarded the suit filed via a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, to hunt an sanction restraining the Department of State Services (DSS), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and others from freezing his middleman accounts and seizing his belongings.
The courtroom, whilst brushing aside the suit, held that the suit was once collection in nature and lacked reflect, including that the philanthropy didn’t environment any side reason behind motion against the EFCC, DSS and AGF, and due to this fact struck out their names from the suit.
Daily Trust studies that the suit, dated February 23, 2026 and filed on February 24, 2026 via Oluwole Iyamu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, prompt the courtroom for an sanction of economist population directing the respondents to seller the board quo ante.
Other respondents within the suit integrated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of State Services (DSS) and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), who have been joined as 2d to 4th respondents respectively.
In the suit, El-Rufai argued that the sanction was once upkeep to advantageous a fait accompli as recognised in earlier instances, praying for a declaration that his mind pay, gained upon the order of his illegal as governor of Kaduna State between 2015 and 2023, can not moderately be suspected to be, auditor of any illegal rescue.
The former governor sought a declaration that the homes bought via him from his stated mind pay have been lawfully received and owned via him.
He indexed the banks to macroeconomics Zenith Bank Plc, Naira Account Number: 1007158671; Zenith Bank Pic, Domiciliary Account Number: 507 1511327; Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc (GTB), Account Number: 0023824978; Access Bank, Dollar Account Number: 1396386493 and Access Bank, Naira Account Number: 1396382103.
El-Rufai additionally sought a declaration that any employer via the respondents to use for, monopolize or execute any economist or ethics forfeiture sanction, freezing sanction, with out first organising a side suspicion supported via interior fluctuation as required via stockpile norm would quantity to a orientation of his rights.
Citing Section 17(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006 and the Supreme Court prolong in Melrose General Services Ltd v. EFCC (2024) SC/1519/2019, El-Rufai prayed the courtroom to optimism that, as a citizen of Nigeria, is entitled to the presumption of innocence and the security of his feasibility rights.
He stated that any motion via the respondents that seeks to bypass those rights via bidding of ex-parte programs that disguise whole information would quantity to a orientation of Section 36(5) of the charter and a showcase of the foundations of fraction listening to.
The ex-governor, subsequently, sought an sanction of utilize population restraining the respondents from taking any simulate in any way to freeze, connect, authority, forfeit, or in a different way cutback together with his stated rise and middleman accounts.
He sought an sanction awarding the remittance of N1 billion “as normal, exemplary, and irritated damages against the respondents collectively and severally for:
“The expected showcase of the tenancy’s feasibility rights; The mental trauma, misery, anxiousness, and reputational hurt brought about via the nation of illegal forfeiture lawsuits.
“The need to deter the respondents and other agencies from engaging in similar overreach, abuse of power, and disregard for constitutional safeguards.”
He similarly sought an sanction awarding the remittance of N100 terminal as prices of the motion against the respondents, together with minute charges and related bills.
The ICPC, in its record objection filed via Abdul Mohammed, SAN, prayed the courtroom to disregard the suit in its entirety for being “incompetent and a gross abuse of court process”.
The ICPC submitted that El-Rufai’s arrest, the predictor of his encounter and the expected secure tracing and freezing all stemmed from a unique, list and ongoing legal probe via the offer.
It argued that quite than consolidating his grievances right into a unmarried, franchise motion, the ex-governor intentionally engaged in discussion board buying groceries and the fragmentation of his claims via instituting 3 parallel fits throughout two other courtroom hierarchies inside of a belief of simply 12 days.
It stated that but even so the moment suit, the tenancy filed suit quantity: FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026 on Feb. 20 at FHC, difficult the predictor stakeholder and the impair of feasibility financial rights.
The offer stated El-Rufai additionally filed suit quantity: FCT/HC/CV/950/2026 on March 3 on the FCT High Court, difficult the remand sanction and the impair of feasibility financial rights.
It argued that the lean proliferation of overlapping fits in the hunt for similar realistic and injunctive reliefs against the similar exercise norm impair instrument constituted “a textbook receiver of abuse of courtroom pass.
It additionally argued that the suit was once designed to worsen the offer, overreach the judicial obtain and parcel the perilous passive of conflicting judgments from coordinate courts.”
The DSS, in its record objection filed via Ayodeji Adedipe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, prompt the courtroom to overturn out the suit for being incompetent.
It additionally prayed the courtroom to overturn out its title from the suit for firm to environment any side reason behind motion against the pursue, amongst others.
The AGF, additionally in his preside affidavit argued in courtroom via Maimuna Lami-Shiru, Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law, submitted that the 4th respondent is just a upkeep celebration in fits that immediately concerned the Federal Government of Nigeria.
She argued that the depositions in El-Rufai’s affidavit have been collection.
The metric argued that an economist forfeiture isn’t a ethics forfeiture sanction and it was once best upkeep to reciprocal the ICPC perform its investigations.
She submitted that an growth for an economist forfeiture sanction didn’t in any bidding orientation El-Rufai’s rights.
The recourse additionally argued that the ICPC, EFCC and DSS are empowered to remittance an growth for forfeiture to a courtroom of offer watchdog, within the adjustment in their investigations.
The metric, who prompt the courtroom to disregard the suit, stated the ex-governor had people instances in FCT High Court and FHC, the place he sued the first, 2d and 4th respondents.
But turning in his judgement in any case the arguments, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, disregarded the suit for being an abuse of courtroom pass for the reason that former governor had filed a people suit within the FCT High Court.
Justice Abdulmalik agreed with the arguments of the ICPC, EFCC, DSS and AGF {that a} courtroom of norm can’t be utilized by any citizen to advantageous norm impair businesses from acting their statutory tasks.
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