Kaduna State former Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has filed a lawsuit against the Kaduna State House of Assembly, contesting allegations that his administration misappropriated N432 billion and left the state with substantial debt obligations.
El-Rufai, appearing in person at the Federal High Court in Kaduna on Wednesday, initiated a fundamental rights enforcement case against the Assembly.
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He claims the committee investigating his administration denied him a fair hearing.
According to a statement by El-Rufai’s media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, the former governor’s lawyer, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, filed the lawsuit challenging the Assembly committee’s report that accused El-Rufai of corruption.
Adekeye stated, “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.”
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El-Rufai has asked the court to declare 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 May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023, as ratified by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, unconstitutional and therefore null and void for violating his right to fair hearing.
In June, the state Assembly’s ad hoc committee submitted its investigative report on El-Rufai’s administration’s financial dealings, loans, and contracts.
The committee’s chairman, Henry Zacharia, claimed that the loans secured during El-Rufai’s tenure were misused and that proper procedures were not followed in some instances.
Assembly Speaker Yusuf Liman alleged that El-Rufai’s administration misappropriated N423 billion, leading to significant financial burdens for the state.
