Alleged Rights Violation: Court Dismisses El-Rufai’s N120 Million Suit

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja dismissed Nasir El-Rufai’s fundamental rights suit against the DSS, ICPC, EFCC and Attorney General of the Federation. Justice Sylvanus Oriji ruled that the agencies’ invitations were constitutionally valid and that El-Rufai had not established that the DSS’s attempted airport arrest or seizure of his passport violated his rights. El-Rufai had sought N120 million in damages; the court also ordered him to pay N200,000 in costs to each of the four respondents. A separate N1 billion suit challenging the warrant used to search his Abuja residence remains pending before the Federal High Court.