The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja has dismissed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by the suspended Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Musa Nuhu, against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Delivering judgment in the case with suit number FCT/HC/CV/3384/2024, Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme ruled that there was no violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights to personal liberty or freedom of movement as alleged, affirming the ICPC’s authority to invite public officials under investigation.
Captain Nuhu had approached the court seeking to stop the ICPC from inviting him over the continued possession of three official vehicles following his suspension from office. He described the commission’s invitation as harassment and argued that the matter was already under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), making the ICPC’s action a duplication of effort.
However, the ICPC, in its 13-paragraph counter-affidavit, informed the court that the suspended NCAA boss had retained and was still using three government vehicles— a Toyota Land Cruiser VXR V8 (2019 model), a Toyota Hilux (2018 model), and a Lexus LX 570s (2019 model)— eight months after his suspension.
The Commission maintained that the vehicles were official government assets and that recovering them fell squarely within its statutory mandate. It further clarified that its invitation to Nuhu was limited to the recovery of government property unlawfully retained, distinct from the EFCC’s separate investigation.
In her ruling, Justice Nwosu-Iheme dismissed the suit in its entirety, describing it as “unmeritorious and lacking in merit.” She held that there was no basis for the court to interfere with the lawful duties of the ICPC.
“Courts must refrain from clipping the wings of enforcement agencies, including the respondent, unnecessarily. The applicant has failed to prove the basis of his assertion, and his case therefore fails. The sole issue is resolved in the negative and in favour of the respondent,” the judge declared.
The ruling effectively affirmed the ICPC’s power to invite and question suspended public officials over the use or retention of government property during investigations.
