Former Governor Nasir El-Rufai has filed a lawsuit against the Kaduna State House of Assembly, challenging accusations that his administration embezzled N432 billion and left the state with substantial debt. On Wednesday, El-Rufai lodged a fundamental rights enforcement case at the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
El-Rufai personally filed the lawsuit, asserting that the committee denied him a fair hearing. This was detailed in a statement by his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, posted on his X handle on Wednesday. The lawsuit, submitted by El-Rufai’s lawyer Abdulhakeem Mustapha, disputes the Kaduna Assembly Committee’s report accusing El-Rufai of corruption.
Adekeye stated, “His lawyer, AU Mustapha SAN, emphasized that El-Rufai approached the court as a Nigerian citizen entitled to a fair hearing before any quasi-judicial or investigative body or court, as stipulated by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“El-Rufai also requested the court to declare that, under 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, ratified by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, is unconstitutional and therefore null and void for violating his right to a fair hearing as guaranteed by the Constitution.”
In June, the state Assembly’s ad hoc committee submitted its investigative report on El-Rufai administration’s financial dealings, loans, and contracts. The committee’s chairman, Henry Zacharia, alleged that loans obtained during El-Rufai’s tenure were misused, with proper procedures not always followed. Assembly Speaker Yusuf Liman accused El-Rufai’s administration of misappropriating N423 billion, leading to significant financial burdens for the state.
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