Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to bar the anti-corruption and security agencies from taking steps to freeze his bank accounts or seize his property.
Mr El-Rufai, in a fresh suit filed by his lawyer, Oluwole Iyamu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), urged the court to issue an order of interim injunction directing the respondents to maintain “the status quo ante” pending the hearing and determination of the application and his main suit.
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The respondents are the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the State Security Service (SSS), which are either investigating or already prosecuting him.
The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) is also a co-defendant.
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Mr El-Rufai urged the court to issue the restraining order against the agencies to prevent a fait accompli.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the former governor, detained by the ICPC for the past one week, filed the suit through his lawyer on 24 February (Tuesday).
Mr El-Rufai has faced intense enforcement actions from anti-corruption and security agencies since his return to Abuja on 12 February from a trip to Cairo, Egypt. Security agents reportedly attempted to arrest him on his arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
On Monday, 16 February, the EFCC detained him at its headquarters in Abuja after he honoured an invitation for questioning regarding corruption allegations linked to his tenure as Kaduna State governor between 2015 and 2023.
Two days later, on Wednesday, 18 February, ICPC agents arrested him immediately after the EFCC released him on bail.
While in custody, the SSS filed charges of illegally intercepting National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu’s phone call.
The charges followed Mr El-Rufai’s claim in an interview on an Arise Television programme that he, with someone, tapped Mr Ribadu’s phone call to listen to him directing security operatives to detain him. He linked the alleged directive to his attempted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on 12 February after his return from Egypt.
He was scheduled to be arraigned on the charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday. However, the arraignment could not take place as planned because the ICPC, which held him in custody, did not produce him.
Judge Joyce Abdulmalik then rescheduled the arraignment for 23 April.
Mr El-Rufai has submitted different filings in court in response to the security agencies’ actions and possible plans against him.
Prayers
In his suit filed on 24 February seeking to block asset seizure or account freezing by the agencies, Mr. El-Rufai prayed for, among other things, a declaration that his severance pay, received upon completing his tenure as governor of Kaduna State between 2015 and 2023, cannot reasonably be suspected to be proceeds of any unlawful activity.
Mr. El-Rufai, who turned into a fierce critic of President Bola Tinubu after they fell out in 2023 when his nomination to serve as a minister by the president fell through, also sought a declaration that the properties he purchased from his said severance pay were lawfully acquired and owned by him.
He listed the banks to include Zenith Bank Naira Account Number 1007158671; Zenith Bank Domiciliary Account Number 507 1511327; Guaranty Trust Bank Account Number: 0023824978; Access Bank dollar account number 1396386493 and Access Bank naira account number 1396382103.
He also sought a declaration that any attempt or plan by the respondents or their agents to apply for, obtain or execute any interim or final forfeiture order, freezing order, seizure order, or any other order depriving him of his property and/or bank accounts, without first establishing a reasonable suspicion supported by credible evidence as required by relevant law would amount to a breach of his rights.
He cited the law as 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) SC/1519/2019.
Mr El-Rufai prayed the court to declare that, as a citizen of Nigeria, he is entitled to the presumption of innocence and the protection of his fundamental rights.
He said that any action by the respondents that seeks to circumvent these rights by way of ex-parte applications that conceal material facts would amount to a breach of Section 36(5) of the constitution and a violation of the principles of fair hearing.
The ex-governor, therefore, sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining the respondents from taking any step whatsoever to freeze, attach, seize, forfeit, or otherwise interfere with his said property and bank accounts.
He sought an order awarding the sum of N1 billion “as general, exemplary, and aggravated damages against the respondents jointly and severally for:
“The anticipated violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights;
“The psychological trauma, distress, anxiety, and reputational harm caused by the threat of unlawful forfeiture proceedings.
“The need to deter the respondents and other agencies from engaging in similar overreach, abuse of power, and disregard for constitutional safeguards.”
He equally sought an order awarding the sum of N100 million as costs of the action against the respondents, including legal fees and associated expenses.
Grounds of application
Mr El-Rufai, in his grounds for the application, stated that he “is a citizen of Nigeria and a former high-ranking public officer who served as Chief Executive of Nigeria’s Federal Privatisation Agency (1999-2003), Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja (2003-2007), and Governor of Kaduna State (2015-2023).”
He said he had never been convicted of any criminal offence and had repeatedly challenged anyone to come forward with evidence of wrongdoing, which challenge had gone unanswered.
He said upon the completion of his tenure as Governor of Kaduna State, he became entitled to, and received, severance pay calculated at 300 per cent of his annual basic salary pursuant to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) guidelines and the applicable laws of Kaduna State.
He specifically gave the state’s law as the Pension and Gratuity (Governor and Deputy Governor) Law 2006 (as amended in 2013 and 2020).
“This severance pay is a lawful entitlement, not proceeds of unlawful activity,” he said.
He also said he legitimately applied for his said severance pay and other lawful earnings to acquire properties and maintain bank accounts, including his accounts with Zenith Bank Plc, GTB and Access Bank Plc.
“The ICPC concluded, without regard to applicable law or documentary facts, that the severance package is unlawful,” he said.
He said the AGF (4th respondent), as the federation’s chief law officer responsible for superintending all prosecutorial and asset recovery activities of the federal government, is a necessary party to the proceedings. He said this would ensure that any court order binds the federal government as a whole.
He, therefore, stated that any intended action by the respondents would be baseless and lacking in reasonable suspicion, as the severance pay in question is a lawful entitlement and there exists no credible evidence linking his property or accounts to any unlawful activity.
He said he had no other adequate remedy to prevent the threatened violation of his rights if the respondents are not restrained now.
“The applicant has come to this court with clean hands, has nothing to hide and is ready and willing to cooperate with any lawful investigation conducted in accordance with due process,” he said.
El-Rufai’s other legal pushbacks
Mr El-Rufai has also mounted other legal pushbacks since coming under intense scrutiny from the agencies in the last two weeks.
REMIUM TIMES reported on Tuesday that Mr El-Rufai filed an application for the quashing of the phone tapping charges on the grounds that they are incompetent, disclose no offence known to law, and constitute what he described as a gross abuse of court process
Similarly, Mr El-Rufai sued the ICPC for N1 billion on 20 February over a recent reported raid on his Abuja residence by the operatives of the anti-corruption agency.
In the suit, he sued the ICPC alongside a chief magistrate of the Magistrate’s Court of the FCT, Abuja Magisterial District; the Inspector-General of Police and the AGF.
Mr. El-Rufai asked the court to declare that the search warrant issued on 4 February by the chief magistrate authorising the search of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, was invalid, null and void.
He contended that the warrant lacked particularity, contained material drafting errors, was ambiguous in its execution parameters, overbroad in scope, and unsupported by probable cause.
Last year, Mr El-Rufai dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the African Democratic Party (ADC) , vowing to work with others to unseat Mr. Tinubu as president in the 2027 elections.
He has framed his scrutiny by the agencies as political persecution by the Tinubu administration, citing other members of the opposition ADC like the former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, also having the same experience. But the EFCC, which already charged Mr Malami with money laundering involving the alleged illegitimate acquisition of assets while in public office, has always maintained that affiliation with the opposition does not confer immunity on anyone.
(NAN)
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