A High Court of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has dismissed a N120 million fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai against Department of State Services (DSS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Gatekeepers News reports that Justice Sylvanus Oriji dismissed the suit on Monday, October 19, 2026, ruling that it lacked merit. The court also ordered el-Rufai to pay N200,000 in costs to each of the four respondents, bringing the total to N800,000.
The former Governor had approached the court over alleged violations of his fundamental rights, challenging invitation letters issued by the EFCC and ICPC for him to appear for questioning over allegations against him.
However, in his judgment, Oriji held that the agencies acted within their statutory mandates by inviting el-Rufai to provide information on matters under investigation.
The judge ruled that the invitation letters did not violate the former governor’s fundamental rights, rejecting his request for the court to invalidate them.
The court also considered el-Rufai’s complaint over an attempted arrest by DSS operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
The former Governor had argued that the attempted arrest was unlawful because the operatives did not have an arrest warrant.
Oriji, however, upheld the DSS’s position that it had statutory powers to place persons of interest on its watchlist and arrest them where necessary. The judge said el-Rufai could not use the judicial process to prevent security and anti-corruption agencies from performing their lawful duties.
On the seizure of his international passport, the court held that the action was within the DSS’s powers. It added that el-Rufai had failed to establish that the seizure was continuous, permanent and unlawful.
The suit is one of several legal challenges involving the former governor and federal security and anti-corruption agencies.
In a separate case on October 8, the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed another suit filed by el-Rufai seeking to restrain the agencies from freezing his bank accounts or seizing his assets.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the case amounted to an abuse of court process, noting that similar suits had been filed before courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
In that case, el-Rufai had argued that his severance benefits from his tenure as Kaduna governor between 2015 and 2023 could not reasonably be suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity. He sought to prevent the agencies from freezing his accounts or interfering with his properties.
The former Governor has also filed a separate N1 billion fundamental rights suit challenging the legality of a search of his Abuja residence by ICPC operatives and police officers.
In that case, he is seeking to nullify the search warrant, secure the return of items allegedly seized and obtain damages over what he described as violations of his constitutional rights.
