Alleged Wiretapping: El-Rufai Loses N120m Right Enforcement Suit Against DSS, Others
Alex Enumah in Abuja A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Monday, dismissed the fundamental rights suit filed by a former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai,
A High Court in the Federal Capital Territory dismissed a fundamental rights suit filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai against the Department of State Services (DSS) and three other entities. The suit, which alleged a breach of El-Rufai's fundamental rights, was dismissed for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
The court awarded N200,000 in court costs to each of the respondents. El-Rufai was arrested in February this year for allegedly tapping the phone lines of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu. The court ruled that the letters from the EFCC and ICPC inviting El-Rufai for investigation did not infringe his rights. The court upheld the DSS's right to arrest persons of interest, as it has statutory mandate to maintain a watchlist and conduct arrest if necessary.
The court also dismissed El-Rufai's argument that his arrest without a warrant was unlawful, stating that the DSS has inherent powers of the police pursuant to the SSS instrument and NSA Act. The court further held that the seizure of El-Rufai's international passport by the DSS was lawful and had inherent powers of the police pursuant to the SSS instrument and NSA Act.
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