Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to throw out the criminal charges brought against him by the Department of State Services (DSS), calling them “incompetent, unconstitutional and an abuse of court process.”
El-Rufai filed a motion challenging Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, dated February 16, 2026.
The case is scheduled for hearing on February 25, 2026, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
In his application, El-Rufai is asking the court to strike out or quash the charge, arguing that it shows no offence recognized by law, lacks a prima facie case, and amounts to a serious abuse of court process. He also wants the court to discharge him completely.
He is also requesting N2 billion in legal costs from the DSS, accusing the agency, through its lawyers, of misusing the criminal justice system to harass, embarrass, and publicly target him.
Court documents show that El-Rufai’s motion lists 17 reasons for asking the charges to be dismissed. His legal team officially notified the DSS Director General of the filings via a letter dated February 18, including details of his lawyers.
Among the reasons cited are alleged constitutional invalidity of the charges, failure to show a prima facie case, reference to offences not recognized by law, lack of prosecutorial competence, fatal duplicity, absence of evidence, bad faith, political persecution, and abuse of court process.
El-Rufai also argued that the prosecution violated his fundamental rights under the 1999 Constitution (as amended), including the presumption of innocence, protection against self-incrimination, requirement for offences to be clearly defined in law, and his rights to freedom of expression and association.
The motion was signed by Muyiwa Adekeye, media adviser to Malam Nasir El-Rufai, and dated February 24, 2026.
