Human rights lawyer Mike Ozekhome has emphasized the importance of a fair hearing for former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who is facing corruption allegations.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday, Ozekhome insisted that El-Rufai must be allowed to defend himself against the charges brought by a Kaduna House of Assembly committee.
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The committee had indicted El-Rufai on corruption charges and made several recommendations.
However, Ozekhome argued that while the committee had fulfilled its duties, it is crucial for El-Rufai to be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
“I’m not a Nostradamus, the man who saw tomorrow, nor am I the oracle at Ile Ife [in Osun State] that will go gaze into the future to pronounce it the next Ooni need to be. So, I wouldn’t be able to know what the outcome would be,”
“But I think that whatever happens, El-Rufai must be given his right to a fair hearing. The assembly has just merely made a recommendation and told the governor to implement it. The governor may look at it and, and feel well, ‘This is not worth the energy at the time. Let’s face other [things]’. Others may say, ‘N423 billion they are accusing him of is not a small amount; let’s dig in.” He added.
Ozekhome highlighted that El-Rufai has fundamental rights to protect and could challenge the indictment in court if he feels he was not given a fair trial.
He questioned whether El-Rufai was duly invited to defend himself, noting, “Was he duly invited? Was he given an opportunity to defend himself? If he was and he chose to stay back, that’s another ball game.”
The human rights lawyer noted that indictments, especially those with criminal implications, cannot be done by proxy and must involve the individual directly.
