A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai seeking to prevent the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other agencies from freezing his bank accounts or seizing his assets.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik dismissed the suit on Thursday, ruling that it amounted to an abuse of court process.
El-Rufai had instituted the case against the ICPC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), listed as the first to fourth respondents, respectively.
The judge upheld the respondents’ argument that the former governor had filed similar suits before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court and the Federal High Court.
Abdulmalik also held that the court could not be used to prevent law enforcement agencies from performing their statutory duties, describing el-Rufai’s suit as speculative and lacking in merit.
She further ruled that the case disclosed no reasonable cause of action against the EFCC, DSS and AGF, consequently striking out their names as respondents.
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 asked the court to restrain the respondents from taking steps to freeze his bank accounts or seize his assets pending the determination of the substantive suit.
He also sought an interim injunction directing the respondents to maintain the status quo to prevent a fait accompli, or an irreversible action.
The former governor argued that the severance pay he received after serving between 2015 and 2023 could not reasonably be suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
He also asked the court to declare that properties acquired with the severance pay were lawfully purchased and belonged to him.
Additionally, el-Rufai sought a perpetual injunction preventing 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 over the anticipated violation of his fundamental rights, psychological trauma, distress, anxiety and reputational damage allegedly arising from the threat of unlawful forfeiture proceedings.
He also requested N100 million in costs, including legal fees and related expenses.
ICPC cites three suits
In its preliminary objection, the ICPC urged the court to dismiss the case, 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.
It accused the former governor of splitting his claims into three separate suits filed before two different court hierarchies within 12 days.
According to the ICPC, el-Rufai filed suit FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026 at the Federal High Court on February 20, challenging a search warrant and seeking the enforcement of his fundamental rights.
The commission said he subsequently filed another suit, marked FCT/HC/CV/950/2026, at the FCT High Court on March 3, challenging a remand order and seeking the enforcement of his fundamental rights.
The ICPC maintained that the overlapping cases created the risk of conflicting decisions by courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
The DSS also asked the court to strike out the suit on the grounds that it was incompetent and failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action against the service.
In its counter-affidavit, the AGF argued that the office of the Attorney-General was only a necessary party in cases directly involving the Federal Government.
The AGF’s representative, Maimuna Lami-Shiru, Director of Civil Litigation and Public Law, also described the statements contained in el-Rufai’s affidavit as speculative.
Lami-Shiru argued that an interim forfeiture order was not a final forfeiture order but a measure that could allow the ICPC to continue its investigation.
She maintained that an application for an interim forfeiture order did not, in itself, violate el-Rufai’s rights, adding that the ICPC, EFCC and DSS were empowered to apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for forfeiture orders during their investigations.
The AGF’s representative urged the court to dismiss the suit, noting that el-Rufai had filed similar cases before the FCT High Court and the Federal High Court.