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KADUNA, Nigeria - A Federal High Court in Kaduna has ordered former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai to pay N900 million in compensation for the illegal detention of Adara community elders in 2019.
Justice Hauwa’u Buhari reached this decision following a lawsuit filed by Awemi Maisamari and eight other Adara natives from Southern Kaduna.
The court found that the detainees’ constitutional rights were violated and held El-Rufai personally accountable for orchestrating their arrests. Additionally, the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police were each directed to pay N10 million in general and special damages.
Lawyer Gloria Mabeiam, representing the plaintiffs, stated that the ruling sends a strong message against the abuse of power. “This decision confirms that no one in government, regardless of temporary immunity, is above the law.
Public office must not be a cover for arbitrary actions,” Gloria said. The lawsuit was filed after El-Rufai left office, enabling him to be sued personally.
The plaintiffs were detained following the murder of Adara monarch Raphael Maiwada in 2019, with El-Rufai accused of ordering their detention and branding them as security threats in Kajuru local government.
Among those detained were former commissioner Bawa Magaji and a retired police chief, both of whom were later released after the Attorney General’s office acknowledged there was insufficient evidence to warrant their prosecution.
The Solicitor General, J.A. Danazumi, representing the respondents, declined to comment on the ruling.
