...

Court Reserves Judgment in El-Rufai’s Suit Challenging Assembly’s Indictment

Kaduna, Nigeria — A Federal High Court in Kaduna State has reserved judgment in the case filed by former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who is seeking to nullify an ad-hoc committee report by the state assembly that indicted his administration for an alleged N423 billion fraud.

The court, which was set to hear the suit on July 17, 2024, will now communicate a judgment date to the involved parties.

El-Rufai, represented by his lawyer Abdulhakeem Mustapha, contends that the Kaduna State House of Assembly violated his right to a fair hearing by not inviting him during their investigation. He urges the court to declare the assembly’s ad-hoc committee report null and void.

During Thursday’s session, counsel for the assembly, Femi Falana (SAN), argued that the court lacks jurisdiction over the fundamental rights case filed by El-Rufai, asserting that the assembly acted within its constitutional mandate. Similarly, Kaduna State Commissioner of Justice, Sule Shuaibu (SAN), who is also a respondent, filed preliminary and substantive objections, requesting the court to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction and cause of action against the Attorney General.

Both respondents emphasized that the report El-Rufai seeks to challenge was not presented to the court, and they urged the dismissal of the suit for lacking merit.

El-Rufai’s counsel was absent from the court session.

Justice RM Aikawa, after hearing the arguments, indicated that the court’s judgment date would be communicated to the parties involved.

The Kaduna State Assembly had set up the ad-hoc committee to investigate the finances, loans, and contracts awarded during El-Rufai’s administration. Following the committee’s findings, the assembly recommended that the state governor refer El-Rufai and his aides to relevant security agencies for investigation. Consequently, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) initiated its own investigation into the alleged fraud.

Kindly share this story: