A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, seeking to restrain the Department of State Services (DSS), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other agencies from freezing his bank accounts and seizing his assets.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, in her judgment on Thursday, held that the suit was speculative and lacked merit.
The court also held that the case failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), DSS and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), and subsequently struck out their names from the suit.
El-Rufai had filed the suit on February 24, 2026, through his counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oluwole Iyamu.
The former governor sought, among other reliefs, an interim injunction directing the respondents to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive issues.
He also asked the court to declare that his severance pay, received after completing his tenure as Kaduna State governor between 2015 and 2023, could not reasonably be suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
El-Rufai further sought a declaration that properties acquired with the severance payment were lawfully acquired and belonged to him.
He listed several bank accounts held with Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Access Bank, including naira and domiciliary accounts, which he sought to protect from any freezing, attachment or forfeiture proceedings.
The former governor also asked the court to restrain the respondents from applying for, obtaining or executing any interim or final forfeiture or freezing order against his assets without first establishing reasonable suspicion supported by credible evidence as required by law.
Relying on provisions of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and a 2024 Supreme Court decision, El-Rufai argued that he was entitled to the presumption of innocence and protection of his fundamental rights.
He further contended that any attempt by the agencies to circumvent those rights through ex-parte applications that concealed material facts would violate the constitutional right to fair hearing.
El-Rufai consequently sought a perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from freezing, attaching, seizing, forfeiting or otherwise interfering with his properties and bank accounts.
He also asked the court to award N1 billion in general, exemplary and aggravated damages over what he described as anticipated violations of his fundamental rights, including psychological trauma, distress, anxiety and reputational harm.
He further sought N100 million as costs of the action, including legal fees and other expenses.
ICPC Challenges Suit
The ICPC, through its counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Abdul Mohammed, filed a preliminary objection urging the court to dismiss the suit for being incompetent and an 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 were part of a single, continuous criminal investigation.
It accused the former governor of forum shopping and fragmenting his claims by filing multiple suits in different courts.
The commission cited another suit, FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, filed at the Federal High Court on February 20, in which El-Rufai challenged the search warrant and enforcement of his fundamental rights.
It also referred to suit number FCT/HC/CV/950/2026, filed at the FCT High Court on March 3, challenging his remand order and enforcement of his fundamental rights.
The ICPC argued that the multiple suits amounted to an abuse of court process and created the risk of conflicting decisions by courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
DSS, AGF Oppose El-Rufai’s Case
The DSS, through its counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ayodeji Adedipe, also urged the court to strike out the suit for being incompetent.
The service argued that El-Rufai’s case failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action against it.
The Attorney-General of the Federation, represented by the Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law, Maimuna Lami-Shiru, similarly opposed the suit.
She argued that the depositions contained in El-Rufai’s affidavit were speculative and maintained that an interim forfeiture order was not the same as a final forfeiture order.
According to her, an interim forfeiture order was intended to enable the relevant agency conduct its investigation and did not, in itself, amount to a violation of El-Rufai’s rights.
She also argued that the ICPC, EFCC and DSS were empowered by law to approach a competent court for forfeiture orders in the course of investigations.
The AGF’s representative urged the court to dismiss the suit, noting that El-Rufai had instituted related cases before the Federal High Court and the FCT High Court.
Court Dismisses Suit
In her judgment, Justice Abdulmalik agreed with the submissions of the ICPC, EFCC, DSS and AGF that the suit amounted to an abuse of court process.
The judge held that El-Rufai had filed a similar case before the FCT High Court and consequently dismissed the Federal High Court action.
The court also agreed with the respondents that a court could not be used to prevent law enforcement agencies from carrying out their statutory responsibilities.
The dismissal represents a legal setback for the former governor in his attempt to secure a court order preventing possible freezing or forfeiture proceedings involving his assets.
