KADUNA, Nigeria — A Federal High Court in Kaduna has awarded ₦900 million in damages against former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, over the unlawful arrest and detention of nine Adara elders in 2019, declaring the action a violation of their fundamental human rights.
The ruling, delivered on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, by Justice Hauwa’u Buhari, came in a suit filed by Awemi Dio Maisamari and eight other elders from Southern Kaduna.
The court held El-Rufai personally liable for orchestrating what it described as an arbitrary and illegal detention of the applicants.
The judgment also imposed ₦10 million in general damages and ₦10 million in special damages against the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, and the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, for their role in the prolonged detention.
According to court records, the elders were arrested following the October 2018 murder of Dr. Raphael Maiwada Galadima, the Agom Adara and paramount ruler of the Adara people.
El-Rufai, then governor of Kaduna State, reportedly ordered their arrest, accusing them of posing a security threat in Kajuru Local Government Area.
Among the detained were a former commissioner, Bawa Magaji, and a retired police commissioner.
The elders were held for weeks before the Attorney General eventually declared there was no evidence linking them to the murder, leading to their release.
The applicants filed the case against El-Rufai in his personal capacity after he left office.
Justice Buhari ruled that the actions of the former governor constituted an abuse of power and a violation of their constitutional rights.
Reacting to the judgment, the applicants’ counsel, Gloria Mabeiam Ballason, lauded the ruling as a landmark decision in the fight against executive impunity.
“This judgment marks a watershed against abuse of power and accountability for abuse, whether the occupiers of the office are temporarily shielded by immunity or not,” she said.
“Even when people in authority enjoy immunity, it does not warrant executive lawlessness.”
Ballason noted that the verdict sends a clear message that public office does not confer unchecked power.
Efforts to obtain a response from counsel to the respondents, J.A. Danazumi, who also serves as Solicitor General, were unsuccessful, as he declined to comment on the ruling.
