The FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Monday, dismissed former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s N120 million elementary rights enforcement suit, which he instituted following an try and arrest him by safety operatives on the airport in Abuja earlier within the 12 months.
Mr El-Rufai, who has been detained since February, sued the State Security Service (SSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Mr El-Rufai, who sought a complete of N120 million in damages against the safety businesses, alleged that they violated his rights by seizing his passport and trying to arrest him on the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja upon his arrival within the nation in February.
Judge Sylvanus Oriji stated the case lacked advantage and awarded N200,000 in prices against Mr El-Rufai in favour of every of the 4 respondents. The fines totalled N800,000.
Mr Oriji held that there was nothing incorrect with the try by SSS operatives to arrest him on the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
He dominated that SSS, a secret police organisation, acted inside its powers “to place persons of interest on its watchlist and arrest them where necessary.”
He added that the seizure of Mr El-Rufai’s passport by SSS operatives on the airport was lawful and inside the company’s powers.
The choose threw out Mr El-Rufai’s argument that the tried arrest was illegal as a result of there was no warrant.
He added that the letters of invitation issued by the EFCC and ICPC weren’t a violation of Mr El-Rufai’s human rights.
According to the choose, the businesses’ invites fell inside their jurisdiction to make sure Mr El-Rufai offered data concerning his ongoing interrogation.
The choose dominated that Mr El-Rufai can’t use the court docket “to prevent the agencies from performing their statutory duties.”
He due to this fact dismissed the suit for missing advantage.
Background
PREMIUM TIMES reported that SSS operatives tried to arrest Mr El-Rufai on 12 February, following his arrival from Cairo, Egypt.
While the arrest was unsuccessful, the safety operatives seized the previous governor’s passport.
The following day, Mr El-Rufai alleged throughout a reside interview on ‘Prime Time’, an Arise Television programme, that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, was behind the alleged try and arrest him on the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
He stated he knew Mr Ribadu ordered his arrest from listening to a wire-tapped telephone name made by Mr Ribadu instructing safety operatives to hold out his arrest.
Ubong Akpan, one among Mr El-Rufai’s attorneys, condemned the dramatic incident on the Abuja airport on the time, linking the tried arrest to a a call for participation from the EFCC.
He added that his legislation agency wrote to the company, notifying it that Mr El-Rufai would honour its invitation on 16 February.
The former governor was later detained after honoring the invitation. He was launched two days after, and subsequently re-arrested by SSS operatives who handed him over to the ICPC.
He has since been within the custody of the ICPC which is prosecuting the previous governor in two separate instances in Kaduna on cash laundering and abuse of workplace expenses stemming from his actions because the Kaduna State governor.
The ICPC announced a plan in March to prosecute 5 safety officers for allegedly receiving bribes to grant entry to Mr El-Rufai’s supporters to restricted areas of the Abuja airport when he arrived in Nigeria in February.
On 23 April, SSS arraigned Mr El-Rufai earlier than the Federal High Court in Abuja, over his declare of wiretapping Mr El-Rufai’s telephone name.
String of authorized battles
Monday’s judgement happened 11 days after Judge Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja, dismissed one other elementary rights suit Mr El-Rufai filed, by which he had sought to restrain the EFCC, ICPC, the SSS and the AGF from freezing his financial institution accounts or seizing his properties. Ms Abdulmalik threw out the case on 8 October.
Mr El-Rufai, who has been detained by the ICPC since February based mostly on a court docket order issued in an ongoing corruption continuing instituted by the ICPC against him in Kaduna, nonetheless has not less than two different elementary human rights instances in court docket.
Mr El-Rufai filed a suit in February searching for N1 billion in damages against the ICPC and different defendants for alleged violations of his rights throughout the search carried out at his Abuja residence on 19 February.
Mr El-Rufai filed the N1 billion elementary rights enforcement suit on 20 February following his detention and the search of his Abuja dwelling.
He requested the court docket to declare that the search warrant issued on 4 February by the FCT chief Justice of the Peace, which authorised the search and seizure at his residence, was invalid, null, and void.
He argued the search violated his rights to dignity, private liberty, truthful listening to, and privateness, and sought an injunction to restrain the respondents from utilizing any seized proof.
The ICPC opposed the suit, stating in a counter-affidavit that it acted on a petition against El-Rufai and below statutory powers to research, arrest, and prosecute offenders.
The police added that the search was carried out below a warrant issued by a reliable court docket.
In August, he filed a N10 billion suit against the ICPC for allegedly stopping him from seeing his spouse, Aichatou Asabe, and his son, Abba El-Rufai, whereas they have been in custody.
The ICPC is at the moment prosecuting him in two separate corruption instances earlier than two courts in Kaduna.
The SSS can be prosecuting him earlier than the Federal High Court in Abuja on telephone tapping expenses.
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