El-Rufai sues Kaduna Assembly over N432bn probe

Former Governor Nasir El-Rufai has sued the Kaduna State House of Assembly over claims that his administration embezzled N432 billion and left the state with significant debt obligations.

The former governor, on Wednesday, filed a fundamental rights enforcement case against the Kaduna State House of Assembly at the Federal High Court in Kaduna.

El-Rufai, who appeared in person to file the lawsuit, alleged that the committee denied him a fair hearing.

Photo: X (@MuyiwaAdekeye)
This was contained in a statement by the former governor’s media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, posted on his X handle on Wednesday.

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The lawsuit, filed by El-Rufai’s lawyer, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, contested the Kaduna Assembly Committee’s report, which accused El-Rufai of corruption.

Adekeye said, “His lawyer, AU Mustapha SAN, said that El-Rufai approached the court as a Nigerian citizen who is entitled to be given a fair hearing before his rights can be determined by a quasi-judicial or investigative body or courts in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.

“El-Rufai also asked the court to declare that by the provisions of Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, the Report of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Investigation of Loans, Financial Transactions, Contractual Liabilities and Other Related Matters of the Government of Kaduna State from 29 May 2015 to 29 May 2023, as ratified by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, is unconstitutional and therefore null and void for violating his right to fair hearing as guaranteed under the Constitution.”

The state Assembly’s ad hoc committee had earlier in June submitted its investigative report on the El-Rufai administration’s financial dealings, loans, and contracts to the House

The chairman of the ad hoc committee, Henry Zacharia, said the loans secured during El-Rufai’s tenure were largely misused, and in some instances, proper procedures were not followed in obtaining them.

The Assembly Speaker, Yusuf Liman, alleged that El-Rufai’s administration misappropriated N423 billion, resulting in significant financial burdens for the state.