Court rejects ex-minister Turaki’s bid to block DNA test result in paternity dispute

A federal high court in Abuja has declined the application by Kabiru Turaki, a former minister of special duties and intergovernmental affairs, seeking to stop the police from presenting the DNA test result in the paternity dispute with Hadiza Baffa.

Ruling on an ex parte motion moved by Turaki’s lawyer, Abdulaziz Ibrahim, on Tuesday, Inyang Ekwo, presiding judge, held that he could not grant the relief sought by the ex-minister without hearing from the respondents.

“Upon studying the motion ex-parte and the averments in the affidavit in support, including the affidavit of urgency, I am of the opinion that the prayers cannot be granted without hearing from the respondents,” Ekwo said.

Consequently, the judge ordered Turaki to notify all the respondents in the application within two days of the order.

Ekwo directed the respondents to show cause on the next adjourned date why the prayers sought by the former minister should not be granted.

The matter was adjourned to February 24.

BACKGROUND

Turaki had filed the ex-parte motion, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/244/2025, against the Nigeria Police Force (NPF); the inspector-general of police; deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Rita Oyintare (DCP for Gender); and Hadiza Musa Baffa as first to fourth respondents, respectively.

The motion, dated February 11 but filed on February 13, sought an interim injunction restraining the respondents from presenting or relying on a DNA test result obtained from DNA Labs Limited or any other laboratory on November 5, 2024, or thereafter.

In his argument, Turaki stated that he had previously initiated legal action against Baffa in suit No. CV/35/2024 on June 24, 2024, seeking a court declaration that she was not his wife and that her child was not his.

According to Turaki, Hadiza had filed multiple petitions with the police regarding the matter.

He asserted that these petitions were consolidated upon his request in a letter dated September 19, 2024, and the investigation was assigned to the deputy inspector-general of police (DIG) for intelligence.

Despite this, Turaki claimed that Oyintare continued to harass and summon him for questioning.

He further alleged that despite a court order and the IGP’s directive transferring the case to the DIG, Oyintare insisted on personally handling the investigation.

Turaki recounted that on November 5, 2024, he was summoned by Oyintare and pressured to provide a DNA sample. He resisted, stating that he would not submit to a forced test.

However, he alleged that Oyintare subsequently detained him at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Garki, Abuja, from noon until 6pm before forcibly collecting his DNA sample at 9pm. He was released around 10pm.

The former minister further stated that a criminal charge had been filed against him at the federal capital territory (FCT) magistrate court, and the respondents planned to use the DNA test result obtained under duress as evidence.

Turaki argued that unless the court intervened promptly, the result would be used against him, causing irreparable damage even if the suit was eventually decided in his favour.