Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to quash and strike out the criminal charges filed against him by the Department of State Services (DSS), describing them as incompetent, unconstitutional and a gross abuse of court process. He also demanded N2 billion in damages over alleged misuse of the criminal justice system.
The motion on notice relates to Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, filed on February 16, 2026, and fixed for hearing before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik. El-Rufai argued that the charge discloses no offence known to law and fails to establish a prima facie case against him.
In the application, he sought an order discharging him from the case, contending that the prosecution breached several constitutional provisions, including the presumption of innocence, protection against self-incrimination, and requirements that offences be defined by written law.
His legal team listed 17 grounds for the application, alleging constitutional invalidity, fatal defects in the charge, lack of prosecutorial competence, bad faith, political persecution, and abuse of court process.
El-Rufai is asking the court to award him N2 billion in costs against the DSS for what he described as the “egregious, reckless and unconstitutional” use of the criminal justice system to harass and publicly victimize him, while also granting any further orders the court deems appropriate.
