Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has suffered a major setback in court in his battle to protect his bank accounts and properties from anti-graft agencies.
Court Says No To El-Rufai
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday dismissed the suit filed by El-Rufai seeking to restrain the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and others from freezing his accounts or seizing his assets.
The former governor had dragged the ICPC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation to court.
Judgment: Abuse of Court Process
Justice Abdulmalik agreed with the respondents that the suit was an abuse of court process. The court noted that El-Rufai already has a similar case pending at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
The judge ruled that no citizen can use the court to stop law enforcement agencies from performing their statutory duties, describing the suit as speculative and unmeritorious.
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The court had earlier upheld preliminary objections by the EFCC, DSS and AGF that El-Rufai failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action against them.
The N1bn Damages Claim
El-Rufai had asked the court to declare that his severance pay as governor from 2015 to 2023 could not be suspected to be proceeds of crime, and that properties bought with it were lawfully acquired.
He listed his accounts in Zenith Bank, GTB and Access Bank and sought a perpetual injunction to stop any forfeiture, plus N1 billion as damages for alleged trauma and rights violation.
But the ICPC, through Abdul Mohammed (SAN), accused El-Rufai of forum shopping by filing three overlapping suits within 12 days in different courts to frustrate investigation. The DSS and AGF also urged the court to dismiss the case, insisting they have powers to apply for interim forfeiture during investigations.
The court dismissed the suit in its entirety.
