Court Dismisses El-Rufai’s Suit Seeking to Block Freezing of His Bank Accounts
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has lost his bid to stop the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other anti-graft agencies from freezing his bank accounts.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the suit, ruling that it lacked merit and was speculative. The court held that El-Rufai had failed to establish a reasonable cause of action against some of the agencies named as defendants.
Following the ruling, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) were struck out of the case.
El-Rufai filed the suit on February 24, seeking an interim injunction to prevent the agencies from taking action against his assets. He argued that the order was necessary to protect him from being placed in a helpless position and maintained that the severance pay he received after serving as Kaduna governor from 2015 to 2023 could not reasonably be suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity.
The former governor also asked the court to declare that properties purchased with his severance benefits were lawfully acquired. His application sought protection for accounts held with Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Access Bank.
El-Rufai further asked the court to declare that any attempt to obtain or enforce an interim or final asset-freezing or forfeiture order without reasonable suspicion backed by credible evidence would violate his rights.
To support his case, he relied on Section 17(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and the Supreme Court decision in Melrose General Services Ltd v. EFCC (2024), arguing that he was entitled to the presumption of innocence and protection of his fundamental rights.
He also argued that using ex parte applications to conceal material facts or circumvent his constitutional protections would violate Section 36(5) of the Constitution and the principles of fair hearing. However, the court dismissed his suit, leaving his request for protection against the freezing of his accounts unsuccessful.