El-Rufai not liable in ₦900m Judgment – Lawyers

Legal counsel to former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has firmly denied recent media reports suggesting that a Federal High Court in Kaduna awarded a ₦900 million judgment against him in a human rights case.

In a press statement dated June 4, 2025, and signed by Sule Sheikh Umoru, a Partner at A.U. Mustapha & Co., the legal team clarified that no such financial judgment — or any at all — was entered against El-Rufai in the case.

Court orders El-Rufai to pay N900m for rights violation

The case in question, Suit No: FHC/CS/23/2024, was presided over by Justice H. Buhari and involved six respondents: El-Rufai (1st Respondent), the Governor of Kaduna State, the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, and the Kaduna State Attorney General.

According to Umoru, El-Rufai had no prior knowledge of the lawsuit until it surfaced in the media, as he had never been served any court documents or hearing notices.

Following the reports, his legal team obtained the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment on June 4, 2025, after a delay caused by a strike by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).

The CTC, they said, confirms that the court did not assign any liability to El-Rufai and made no monetary award against him.

The judgment explicitly stated that while El-Rufai allegedly made a comment at a meeting with the Adara community—referring to the applicant, Awemi Dio Maisamari, as “part of the problem”—there was no evidence linking him to the applicant’s subsequent arrest. The court noted:

“The applicant ought to have adduced evidence to support the assertion that it was the 1st respondent who ordered his arrest through the agents of the 3rd to 5th Respondents.

“The applicant did not adduce evidence to substantiate this claim.”

The court’s monetary awards, according to the CTC, were solely against the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, and the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police (3rd to 5th Respondents).

These included ₦10 million in compensation, ₦10 million in general damages, and a refund of filing costs based on submitted receipts.

The legal team condemned the inaccurate media reports as “false and misleading,” urging journalists to verify such legal outcomes through official channels before publishing.

“This kind of misreporting not only misinforms the public but also undermines confidence in the judiciary,” the statement read.

For transparency, a copy of the judgment’s CTC was included with the press release.