The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai seeking to restrain the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other law enforcement agencies from freezing his bank accounts or taking steps to seize his assets.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik dismissed the suit on Thursday, ruling that it constituted an abuse of court process because El-Rufai had instituted similar proceedings before the Federal Capital Territory High Court.
The former governor had sued the ICPC, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), asking the court to prevent the agencies from freezing, attaching, forfeiting or otherwise interfering with his bank accounts and properties.
Justice Abdulmalik agreed with the respondents that the court could not be used to prevent law enforcement agencies from carrying out their statutory responsibilities. She further held that the suit was speculative and lacked merit.
The court also struck out the names of the EFCC, DSS and AGF after finding that the case disclosed no reasonable cause of action against them.
The suit, filed in February by Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, followed investigations involving the ICPC and sought, among other reliefs, declarations that El-Rufai’s severance benefits from his tenure as governor between 2015 and 2023 were lawful and could not reasonably be regarded as proceeds of unlawful activity.
He also sought a perpetual injunction against any attempt to freeze or forfeit his assets, as well as N1 billion in general, exemplary and aggravated damages and N100 million in legal costs.
However, the ICPC argued that the case formed part of a broader criminal investigation and accused the former governor of forum shopping by filing overlapping suits in different courts.
The commission said El-Rufai had also filed separate cases at the Federal High Court and the FCT High Court challenging aspects of the investigation, including a search warrant and a remand order.
The DSS similarly challenged the competence of the suit, while the AGF argued that the application was speculative and that interim forfeiture proceedings did not amount to a final forfeiture of property.
The judgment underscores the limits of pre-emptive litigation against ongoing investigations and affirms the authority of law enforcement agencies to pursue statutory investigations and seek appropriate judicial orders where necessary.
