A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s bid to prevent anti-corruption and security agencies from freezing his bank accounts or seizing his properties.
Daily Times Nigeria reported that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik delivered the ruling on Thursday, October 8, 2026, holding that the suit amounted to an abuse of court process and lacked merit.
The judge agreed with the respondents that El-Rufai had filed similar cases before the Federal High Court and the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, making the fresh action improper. She also described the suit as speculative.
El-Rufai had approached the court to restrain the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney-General of the Federation from freezing his accounts or taking possession of his properties. He argued that the severance benefits he received for serving as governor from 2015 to 2023 were lawful and could not reasonably be regarded as proceeds of crime.
The former governor also sought ₦1 billion in damages and ₦100 million in legal costs. However, the court struck out the EFCC, DSS and Attorney-General of the Federation as respondents, ruling that the suit disclosed no reasonable cause of action against them. The decision relates to the specific case and does not automatically determine the outcome of other proceedings involving El-Rufai.
