A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a lawsuit from Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, who was in office from 2015 to 2023. El-Rufai sought to prevent the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other agencies from freezing his bank accounts and seizing his assets.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that El-Rufai’s lawsuit was an abuse of the court process. The judge noted that he had already filed similar cases in other courts. She stated that courts cannot be used to stop law enforcement agencies from doing their jobs.
El-Rufai had argued that the severance pay he received after leaving office should not be seen as linked to any illegal activity. He wanted the court to declare that the properties he bought with this pay were legally acquired. He also sought a court order to stop the agencies from interfering with his assets and demanded compensation for damages he claimed he suffered due to the threat of asset freezing.
The ICPC argued that El-Rufai’s lawsuit was not valid and pointed out that it was part of ongoing criminal investigations related to him. They claimed he had filed multiple lawsuits in a short time, which could lead to conflicting court decisions.
In response, the court agreed with the ICPC and other agencies, stating that El-Rufai did not provide sufficient reasons for his claims. The judge also removed the names of the other agencies from the case, finding no reasonable cause for action against them.
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