Blessing Omale, Abuja
A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit by Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, seeking to prevent the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other security agencies from freezing his bank accounts or seizing his assets.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik dismissed the suit on Thursday, ruling that it constituted an abuse of court process, was speculative and lacked merit.
The judge agreed with the respondents that el-Rufai had filed similar suits before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court and the Federal High Court, creating a risk of duplicating legal proceedings.
She also held that the court could not be used to prevent law enforcement agencies from performing their statutory duties.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/368/2026, was filed on February 24 by Oluwole Iyamu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
El-Rufai had joined the ICPC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as the first to fourth respondents, respectively.
He asked the court to restrain the agencies from taking steps to freeze his bank accounts or seize his assets pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The former governor also sought an interim injunction directing the respondents to maintain the status quo to prevent a fait accompli, or an irreversible action, before the court determined the case.
In his claims, el-Rufai argued that the severance pay he received after serving as governor between 2015 and 2023 could not reasonably be suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
He also sought a declaration that properties acquired with the severance pay were lawfully acquired and belonged to him.
In addition, he asked the court for a perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from freezing, attaching, seizing, forfeiting or otherwise interfering with his properties and bank accounts.
He demanded N1 billion in general, exemplary and aggravated damages, citing anticipated violations of his fundamental rights, psychological trauma, distress, anxiety and reputational harm allegedly arising from the threat of unlawful forfeiture proceedings.
He also sought N100 million as costs of the action, including legal fees and associated expenses.
In its preliminary objection, the ICPC urged the court to dismiss the suit, describing it as incompetent and a gross abuse of court process.
The commission argued that el-Rufai’s arrest, the search of his residence and the anticipated tracing and freezing of his assets arose from a single, ongoing criminal investigation.
According to the ICPC, the former governor had fragmented his claims by filing three separate suits before two different court hierarchies within 12 days.
The commission said el-Rufai filed suit FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026 before the Federal High Court on February 20, challenging a search warrant and seeking the enforcement of his fundamental rights.
It further stated that he subsequently filed suit FCT/HC/CV/950/2026 before the FCT High Court on March 3, challenging a remand order and seeking the enforcement of his fundamental rights.
The ICPC argued that the overlapping proceedings could result in conflicting decisions by courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
It therefore urged the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that it was incompetent and constituted an abuse of judicial process.
The DSS also urged the court to strike out the suit, arguing that it was incompetent and disclosed no reasonable cause of action against the service.
Similarly, the Attorney-General of the Federation argued that the office of the AGF was only a necessary party in suits directly involving the Federal Government.
Maimuna Lami-Shiru, director of civil litigation and public law, who represented the AGF, described the depositions in el-Rufai’s affidavit as speculative.
She argued that an interim forfeiture order was not equivalent to a final forfeiture order, but rather a measure that could enable the ICPC to continue its investigation.
According to her, the filing of an application for interim forfeiture did not, in itself, amount to a violation of el-Rufai’s fundamental rights.
Lami-Shiru maintained that the ICPC, EFCC and DSS were empowered to approach a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain forfeiture orders in the course of their investigations.
She urged the court to dismiss the suit, noting that el-Rufai had instituted similar proceedings before the FCT High Court and the Federal High Court.
Justice Abdulmalik agreed with the respondents that the suit constituted an abuse of court process.
She also held that it disclosed no reasonable cause of action against the EFCC, DSS and the AGF and consequently struck out their names as respondents.
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