El-Rufai Withdraws Suit Against Abuja Magistrate in N1 Billion Rights Case

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has withdrawn his fundamental rights suit against a chief magistrate of the FCT Magistrate’s Court, who was named as the second defendant in his N1 billion case. The withdrawal was announced in the Federal High Court in Abuja by El-Rufai’s lawyer, Ugochukwu Nnakwu, following the court’s observation that the suit failed to properly identify the magistrate.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik subsequently struck out the magistrate’s name from the suit and also dismissed the ex parte motion previously filed. El-Rufai’s legal team requested an adjournment to amend the suit, which was granted, with the case now scheduled to resume on June 17.

El-Rufai is seeking N1 billion in damages against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the police, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the magistrate, alleging that a search of his Abuja residence in February violated his constitutional rights to privacy, fair hearing, and personal liberty. The ICPC and police, in their responses, defended the search as lawful under a valid court-issued warrant and urged the court to dismiss the suit.

Written by Adeyemi Adewale