Former Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs Minister, Kabiru Turaki, has raised objections to a petition filed by businesswoman Hadiza Baffa requesting the transfer of his case against her and the police to another court.
Turaki, through his legal counsel, Abdulaziz Ibrahim (SAN), questioned whether the National Judicial Council (NJC) was the appropriate body to handle such a request. The issue was raised before Justice Inyang Ekwo at the Federal High Court in Abuja during a hearing on Monday.
The legal battle between the ex-minister and Baffa stems from a paternity dispute concerning the birth of her daughter.
During the hearing, Justice Ekwo directed Ibrahim to identify all legal documents submitted. Counsel for Baffa, Pius Okeoma, then informed the court that his client had petitioned the NJC on March 10, seeking a transfer of the case. According to Okeoma, the NJC confirmed receipt of the petition and stated that it was under consideration.
“What is the response?” the judge asked.
“They said that the application has been received and it is being attended to,” Okeoma responded.
Justice Ekwo questioned whether the NJC had the authority to assign cases.
Responding, Okeoma said, “The court made an order recently directing parties to maintain a status quo, including not to tender the DNA result that was supposed to be used in a criminal matter against Turaki which came up on March 11.”
“The matter was commenced by originating summons, and what is the purpose of the originating summons?” the judge asked.
“It is mainly for the fundamental human rights application,” Okeoma replied.
The judge asked if Okeoma had been served with the application and if they had responded. He confirmed that they had.
“After that, you went to write to the NJC?” the judge asked.
“It is the 4th respondent,” Okeoma responded.
“Lawyers that know the case, do their case in the court. The National Judicial Council has not asked me to transfer the matter and until they say so,” Justice Ekwo stated.
Okeoma then said that he did not know how Hadiza’s concerns would be addressed.
“There is no petition by any party that a lawyer is not backing,” the judge said.
Justice Ekwo then asked the ex-minister’s lawyer if they had been served with a copy of the letter to the NJC, but Ibrahim responded in the negative.
“No, my lord, in any way, the NJC is not the appropriate authority,” Ibrahim said.
Following the deliberations, the court ordered all parties to exchange and file relevant documents before the next hearing date. Additionally, Baffa was instructed to serve Turaki and the police with copies of her petition to the NJC within two days. The case was adjourned until March 28 for further hearing.
The dispute traces back to a motion ex-parte filed by Turaki on February 13, in which he sought an interim injunction against the Nigerian Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police, Deputy Commissioner of Police for Gender, Rita Oki Oyintare, and Baffa.
Turaki requested a court order preventing the use of a DNA paternity test result allegedly obtained from DNA Labs Limited on November 5, 2024, arguing that it was obtained in violation of his fundamental rights.
He stated that he had previously initiated legal action against Baffa on June 24, 2024, seeking declaratory reliefs, including a permanent injunction preventing her from claiming that they were married or that he fathered her child. He further alleged that Baffa had submitted multiple petitions to law enforcement agencies, which led to the consolidation of the cases in September 2024.
According to Turaki, on November 5, 2024, he was invited by DCP Oyintare and, upon attending, was detained for several hours. He claimed that despite his protests, a swab sample was forcibly taken from him for a DNA test, which he now seeks to challenge in court.
Turaki argued that the contested DNA result was being prepared for use in a criminal case against him before the Federal Capital Territory Magistrate Court in Abuja. He urged the court to intervene to prevent the use of the allegedly unlawfully obtained test result.
