A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has dismissed a N120 million fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Nasir El-Rufai, former Governor of Kaduna State, against the Department of State Services (DSS) and three other government agencies.
The court ruled that the respondents did not violate his fundamental rights.
The court, presided over by Sylvanus Oriji, held in a judgment delivered on Monday that the suit lacked merit, as El-Rufai failed to establish that the actions of the respondents breached the rights he sought to enforce.
The judge awarded N200,000 in costs to each of the four respondents, directing El-Rufai to pay the amount to the DSS, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
The judgment followed El-Rufai’s challenge to actions taken by the security and anti-corruption agencies, including invitations to appear for questioning over allegations against him, an attempted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, and the seizure of his international passport.
In resolving the dispute, Justice Oriji held that the invitations issued by the EFCC and ICPC for the former governor to appear for investigations complied with constitutional requirements and did not constitute an infringement of his fundamental rights.
The judge said the two anti-corruption agencies were within their powers to invite El-Rufai to provide explanations on issues raised against him, adding that the letters inviting him to assist with investigations did not amount to a violation of his rights.
Oriji also dismissed the challenge to the DSS operatives’ attempt to arrest El-Rufai at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, holding that the action did not violate his fundamental rights.
The judge upheld the DSS’s argument that it had a statutory mandate to maintain watchlists of persons of interest and arrest individuals where necessary in the discharge of its responsibilities.
He further rejected El-Rufai’s argument that the attempted arrest was unlawful because the operatives did not have a warrant.
According to the judge, the DSS possesses powers comparable to those exercised by the police in carrying out its statutory duties, a position he relied on in rejecting the former governor’s challenge to the attempted arrest.
Oriji also ruled that the seizure of El-Rufai’s international passport by the DSS did not, on the evidence presented before the court, amount to a violation of his fundamental rights.
The judge said he was satisfied that the seizure was lawful and fell within the powers of the security agency.
He added that El-Rufai had failed to provide evidence establishing that the seizure was continuous, permanent and unlawful, thereby failing to substantiate his claim that the action constituted an infringement of his rights.
The court consequently rejected the former governor’s arguments against the actions of the respondents and dismissed the suit in its entirety.
Oriji also held that El-Rufai could not use the court to prevent government agencies from carrying out their statutory responsibilities, particularly where their actions had not been established to violate his fundamental rights.
On October 8, Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a separate fundamental rights suit filed by El-Rufai in which he sought to restrain the EFCC, ICPC, DSS and the Attorney-General of the Federation from freezing his bank accounts or seizing his properties.
The two cases involved separate legal challenges to the actions of the agencies, with the latest FCT High Court judgment addressing the allegations surrounding the invitation letters, the attempted arrest at the Abuja airport and the seizure of his international passport.
In Monday’s judgment, Oriji concluded that El-Rufai had not established the alleged violations necessary to sustain his fundamental rights claim.
