Jonas Ezieke, Abuja
Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory High Court has dismissed a ₦120 million fundamental rights suit instituted by a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, against the Department of State Services (DSS) and three others.
In a judgment, Justice Oriji dismissed the suit for lacking merit and substance as constituted by the plaintiff.
The presiding judge, Justice Sylvanus Orji, held that the letters of invitation by the EFCC and ICPC to the former governor met constitutional requirement, so did not infringe on his rights;
On El’Rufai ‘s argument that there was no warrant for his attempted arrest by the DSS at the Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport, Abuja, the judge ruled that Service had inherent powers of the police pursuant to the SSS instrument and NSA Act.
The court further held that the DSS had the mandate to maintain watchlist action and arrest persons of interest, stressing that El’Rufai cannot use the court to stop the agencies from performing their duties.
On the question of whether the seizure of the ex-governor’s international passport by the DSS was a violation of his fundamental human rights, the court held that it was satisfied that the seizure was lawful and pursuant to the powers of the DSS and thus, the applicant failed to show that the seizure was continuous, permanent and unlawful.
For a better society
_______________________________
Follow us across our platforms:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/championnewsonline/
Facebook – https://web.facebook.com/championnewsonline
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/champion-newspapers-limited/
https://x.com/championnewsng/
You can also like and comment on our YouTube videos.
https://youtu.be/QIBfD1tT80w?si=R4Qf3so2LxYu3GC2
