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El-Rufai asks court to quash DSS charges, seeks N2bn in costs
Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to quash criminal charges filed against him by the Department of State Services (DSS), describing the case as unconstitutional and an abuse of court process.
El-Rufai is challenging Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, dated February 16, 2026. The matter is scheduled for hearing on February 25, 2026, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
In a motion filed before the court, the former governor is requesting an order striking out or quashing the charge on grounds that it discloses no offence known to law, lacks a prima facie case, and constitutes a gross abuse of the judicial process. He is also asking the court to discharge him entirely.
Additionally, El-Rufai is seeking N2 billion in costs against the DSS, accusing the agency—through its prosecuting counsel—of misusing the criminal justice system to harass, embarrass, and publicly victimise him.
According to court documents, his legal team outlined 17 grounds for dismissal of the charges. The application argues that the prosecution is constitutionally invalid, fails to establish any prima facie case, cites offences unknown to law, and suffers from prosecutorial incompetence and duplicity.
The motion further alleges absence of evidence, bad faith, political persecution, and abuse of court process.
El-Rufai also contends that the charges violate his fundamental rights under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), including the presumption of innocence, protection against self-incrimination, the requirement that offences be clearly defined in written law, and his rights to freedom of expression and association.
His legal representatives formally notified the Director General of the DSS of the processes filed in the matter through a letter dated February 18, 2026.
The application was signed by Muyiwa Adekeye, media adviser to the former governor, and dated February 24, 2026.
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