El-Rufai Asks Court to Strike Out DSS Charge Against Him
Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has filed an application before the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to strike out charges instituted against him by the Department of State Services, describing them as incompetent and an abuse of court process.
El-Rufai’s Media Adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.
According to him, the former governor is challenging Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026 filed against him at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The matter is scheduled to come up on 25 February 2026 before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
In the motion dated 16 February 2026, El-Rufai is asking the court to quash and/or strike out the charge because it is incompetent, discloses no offence known to law and constitutes a gross abuse of court process.
He also prayed the court to discharge him on the basis that the charge fails to establish a prima facie case.
The former governor further sought an order awarding the sum of N2 billion as costs against the DSS, accusing the agency and its prosecuting counsel of misusing the criminal justice system to harass, embarrass and publicly victimise him.
The application, which contains 17 grounds, was filed on 17 February 2026.
His legal team subsequently notified the Director-General of the DSS of the processes filed, through a letter dated 18 February, formally communicating the names and address of his counsel.
Among the grounds advanced for the dismissal of the charge are alleged constitutional invalidity, failure to disclose a prima facie case, citation of offences not recognised by law and non-compliance with statutory conditions.
Other grounds include claims of fatal duplicity, absence of evidence, lack of prosecutorial competence, violation of the constitutional right against self-incrimination, bad faith, political persecution and abuse of court process.
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