Wednesday, April 1, 2026 - Former Kaduna state Governor Nasir El-Rufai has withdrawn his fundamental rights enforcement suit against a chief magistrate listed as the second defendant in his N1 billion case before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The decision was communicated by his lawyer, Ugochukwu
Nnakwu, who informed Justice Joyce Abdulmalik that a motion had been filed to
strike out the magistrate’s name from the suit.
The withdrawal followed the judge’s earlier observation that
the case failed to clearly identify the magistrate being sued. “We urge my lord
to strike out the name of the second defendant as a party in this suit,” Nnakwu
said.
Other parties in the matter, including representatives of
the police, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the Independent Corrupt
Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, did not oppose the
application.
In a brief ruling, Justice Abdulmalik struck out the
magistrate’s name and also removed the related motion filed earlier. However,
when El-Rufai’s counsel sought time to amend the suit, ICPC lawyer Abdul
Mohammed objected, arguing that the removal of the magistrate effectively
leaves no case before the court.
Responding, the judge said: “Counsel, you are jumping the
gun. You can respond to this by filing a counteraffidavit.” The matter was
subsequently adjourned to June 17 to allow the plaintiff amend his filings.
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