Malam Nasir El-Rufai has filed an application before the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to quash the charges brought against him by the Department of State Services (DSS), describing the case as incompetent and a gross abuse of the judicial process.
The former Kaduna State Governor, through his legal team, filed the motion in response to Charge Number FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026 instituted against him at the Federal High Court.
According to a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, the matter is scheduled for 25th February 2026 before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
El-Rufai’s motion on notice is praying the court for “an Order quashing and/or striking out Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026 (as contained in the charge dated 16th February 2026) for being incompetent, for disclosing no offence known to law, and for constituting a gross abuse of court process.”
The application also seeks “an Order discharging the Defendant/Applicant on the ground that the charge discloses no prima facie case against him.”
In a significant demand, the former governor is requesting “an Order awarding the sum of N2,000,000,000.00 (Two Billion Naira) only as costs against the Department of State Services (acting through its prosecuting counsel) for the abuse and misuse of the court process, and the egregious, reckless, and unconstitutional misuse of the criminal justice system to harass, embarrass, and publicly victimize the Defendant/Applicant.”
The motion, which cites 17 grounds for seeking the dismissal of the charges, was filed on 17th February 2026. Adekeye stated that El-Rufai’s lawyers have formally notified the Director General of the DSS of the processes filed in the matter via a letter dated 18th February.
The letter also formally informed the DSS regarding the legal representatives of Malam El-Rufai, and the names and address of his team of counsels.
According to the court papers, the grounds cited in the motion seeking the dismissal of the charges include “their constitutional invalidity, lack of disclosure of a prima facie case, citing offences not known to law and failure to meet statutory conditions.” Other grounds cited include “fatal duplicity and absence of evidence, lack of prosecutorial competence, the impermeable nature of the constitutional right against self-incrimination, bad faith and political persecution and abuse of court process.”
The court papers further argue that the prosecution has engaged in constitutional violations, breaching El-Rufai’s fundamental rights, including Section 36(5) which guarantees the presumption of innocence, Section 36(11) which protects the right against self-incrimination, and Section 36(12) which requires that offences be defined in written law.
The application also cites violations of Section 39 on freedom of expression and Section 40 on freedom of association.
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