A federal high court in Abuja refuses to approve a former party order sought by former special duty minister Kabiru Turaki to prevent police from bringing out DNA tests with him and parent-child disputes involving him and women result. Bafa.
Justice Inyang Ekwo rejected the request on Tuesday, while ruling a motion that was a temporary injunction against Turaki. The former minister had filed the motion in a substantive lawsuit labeled FHC/ABJ/CS/244/2025, challenging the process leading to DNA test results and accusing police of violating his fundamental rights in obtaining samples.
Turaki lists Nigerian police force, police inspector general, deputy police commissioner of gender, Rita Oki Oyintare and Hadiza Baffa as respondents to the lawsuit.
In court lawsuits, Toureki’s attorney Abdulaziz Ibrahim (SAN) argued that the motion attempted to prevent respondents from submitting DNA test results to respondents in any court. Judge Ekwo questioned the request, asking whether the court could prevent anyone from bidding for evidence in legal proceedings. Ibrahim insisted that the judge had the right to approve the order due to alleged violations of Turaki’s fundamental right to obtain DNA samples.
Turaki’s motion specifically seeks “orders of temporary injunctions to restrict respondents, they, their servants, agents, private or through others through restriction DNA labs or any other person presenting, using or relying on so-called DNA parent-child Relationship Tests or any other introduction to, use or rely on any other person. DNA Labs will be in any civil or criminal proceedings on November 5, 2024 or any other date thereafter, in any civil or criminal proceedings, or for any purpose, For applicants, wait for applicants, wait for initiation and determination of the original motion.”
Justice Ekwo ruled that he would not be able to approve the request without the first hearing from the respondent. He ordered Turaki to notify all respondents within two days and directed them to appear on the next adjournment date to explain why the motion should not be approved.
The judge also directed Turaki to provide all documents to the respondents and to custody the case until February 24 for further litigation.
In an affidavit supporting the motion, Tulaki said he had previously filed a lawsuit in the Federal Capital Territory High Court (FCT) on 24 June 2024, marked CV/35/2024. Baffa prevented her from claiming she was married or had a child.
Despite ongoing legal proceedings, he said police invited him under several petitions from Bahrain. He claimed that on November 5, 2024, when he invited the police to respect him, the deputy police chief insisted on collecting swab samples from him for DNA testing. Turaki claimed he protested but was arrested and detained for about six hours in the military criminal investigation department in Abuja. He said his swab samples were later collected by a “alleged scientist” and were released an hour later.
Turaki revealed that he had filed criminal charges against him in the federal capital district court in Abuja and claimed that the police intend to rely on the controversial DNA test results in the case. He argued that unless the court intervened, his test results would be conducted on him and that even if the final decision to litigate in his favor would result in his “irreversible harm.”
He further asserted that without the order of the interim court, he would suffer extraordinary difficulties before resolving the main case.
