El-Rufai Loses Bid To Stop ICPC, EFCC From Freezing Assets

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, seeking to stop the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and other agencies from freezing his bank accounts or seizing his assets.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik dismissed the suit on Thursday, holding that it amounted to an abuse of court process because El-Rufai had earlier filed a similar case before the FCT High Court.

The judge also upheld the respondents’ argument that the court could not be used to restrain law enforcement agencies from performing their statutory duties.

Naija News reorts that Justice Abdulmalik described the suit as speculative and lacking in merit.

She further held that the case disclosed no reasonable cause of action against the EFCC, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Attorney-General of the Federation, and struck out their names from the suit.

El-Rufai filed the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/368/2026, seeking orders restraining the agencies from freezing his bank accounts, seizing his properties, or forfeiting his assets pending determination of the substantive case.

The former governor also asked the court to declare that the severance benefits he received after his tenure as Kaduna governor between 2015 and 2023 were lawfully earned and could not be regarded as proceeds of crime.

He argued that he legally acquired properties with the funds and that any attempt to freeze his accounts or seize his assets without credible evidence would violate his constitutional rights, including the presumption of innocence and his right to a fair hearing.

El-Rufai also sought a perpetual injunction against the agencies and ₦1bn in damages over alleged psychological trauma, reputational damage and anticipated violations of his rights. He further demanded ₦100m as litigation costs.

But the ICPC urged the court to dismiss the suit, describing it as incompetent and an abuse of court process.

The commission argued that El-Rufai had instituted multiple cases arising from the same investigation and was seeking substantially similar reliefs before different courts.

It also accused him of forum shopping, pointing to earlier suits filed before the Federal High Court and FCT High Court challenging the search of his residence and other actions by the agencies.

The DSS similarly asked the court to strike out its name from the suit, while the AGF argued that El-Rufai’s application was speculative.

The AGF maintained that interim forfeiture orders were lawful investigative measures and did not, by themselves, constitute violations of constitutional rights.