A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai seeking to prevent anti-corruption agencies from freezing his bank accounts or seizing his properties.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik dismissed the case on Thursday, ruling that it amounted to an abuse of court process.
El-Rufai had instituted the suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The judge upheld the respondents’ argument that the former governor had filed similar cases before the Federal Capital Territory High Court and another Federal High Court.
Abdulmalik held that the court could not be deployed to stop law enforcement agencies from performing their statutory responsibilities. She also described the suit as speculative and without merit.
The judge further ruled that the case disclosed no reasonable cause of action against the EFCC, DSS and the Attorney-General of the Federation, consequently striking out their names as respondents.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/368/2026, was filed on February 24 by el-Rufai’s lawyer, Oluwole Iyamu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
In the action, the former governor asked the court to restrain the respondents from freezing his bank accounts or confiscating his assets while the substantive suit was being determined.
He also sought an interim injunction directing the agencies to maintain the status quo to prevent what he described as a fait accompli, or an irreversible action.
El-Rufai argued that the severance pay he received after serving as governor from 2015 to 2023 could not reasonably be regarded as suspected proceeds of unlawful activity.
He asked the court to declare that properties acquired with the money were legally obtained and belonged to him.
The former governor also sought a perpetual injunction preventing the respondents from freezing, attaching, seizing, forfeiting or otherwise interfering with his properties and bank accounts.
In addition, he demanded ₦1bn in general, exemplary and aggravated damages over the anticipated violation of his fundamental rights, psychological trauma, distress, anxiety and reputational damage allegedly associated with the threat of unlawful forfeiture proceedings.
He further requested ₦100m as the cost of the action, covering legal fees and related expenses.
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In its preliminary objection, the ICPC urged the court to throw out the case, describing it as incompetent and an abuse of judicial process.
The commission maintained that el-Rufai’s arrest, the search of his residence and the anticipated tracing and freezing of his assets were connected to a single, ongoing criminal investigation.
It argued that rather than pursue his claims in one action, the former governor had split them into three separate suits filed before two different court hierarchies within 12 days.
The commission relied on the existence of the other cases to support its position that the Abuja suit should not proceed.