Nasir El-Rufai, the former Governor of Kaduna State, has dramatically withdrawn his fundamental rights enforcement suit against a chief magistrate of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Magistrate’s Court, effectively dismantling a key component of his N1 billion suit.
The sudden reversal occurred on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, following sharp observations from the presiding judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, who identified a fundamental technical flaw in the former governor’s legal filing.
The suit, which initially sought N1 billion in damages, named four respondents: the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), a chief magistrate at the FCT Magistrate’s Court, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
However, when the case was called for the hearing of a motion ex parte—an application to serve court documents on the magistrate without the respondent’s immediate presence—Justice Abdulmalik halted proceedings.
The judge pointed out that the suit was defective because it failed to properly identify the specific magistrate being sued. The second respondent was vaguely listed only by title, a procedural error the court deemed untenable.
Following the judge’s remarks, El-Rufai’s legal team, led by counsel Ugochukwu Nnakwu, swiftly moved to change course. Nnakwu informed the court that a motion had been filed to withdraw the suit against the second respondent entirely.
“We urge my lord to strike out the name of the 2nd defendant as a party in this suit,” Nnakwu prayed to the court, also asking that the earlier motion for substituted service be struck out.
The application to drop the magistrate from the case was not opposed by counsel for the other respondents, including Ezekiel Rimamsomte for the Police, Maimuna Shiru for the AGF, and Abdul Mohammed (SAN) for the ICPC.
Justice Abdulmalik granted the request without hesitation, issuing a short ruling that struck out the magistrate’s name from the suit and nullified the pending motion ex parte.
With the magistrate removed, Nnakwu immediately sought an adjournment to amend the substantive suit. However, this request was met with resistance from the ICPC’s lead counsel, Abdul Mohammed (SAN). Mohammed argued that the former governor’s original prayers—specifically reliefs one, two, and three—were centered on challenging a search warrant issued by the magistrate to the anti-graft agency.
With the magistrate’s name struck out, Mohammed contended that there was effectively no case pending before the court on those issues.
Despite the objection, Justice Abdulmalik urged the senior lawyer to be patient, stating that the plaintiff should be allowed to manage his own case. She subsequently adjourned the matter until June 17, 2026, granting El-Rufai’s legal team time to file an amended process.
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