Former Governor Nasir El-Rufai has taken legal action against the Kaduna State House of Assembly following accusations of embezzling N432 billion and leaving the state with significant debt obligations.
On Wednesday, El-Rufai filed a fundamental rights enforcement case at the Federal High Court in Kaduna, challenging the allegations made by the Assembly. He personally appeared to file the lawsuit, claiming that the committee responsible for the report denied him a fair hearing.
This development was announced in a statement by El-Rufai’s media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, which was shared on his X handle the same day.
The lawsuit, filed by El-Rufai’s lawyer Abdulhakeem Mustapha, disputes the findings of the Kaduna Assembly Committee’s report, which accused the former governor of corruption. Adekeye emphasized that El-Rufai approached the court as a citizen seeking fair treatment in accordance with the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Adekeye quoted Mustapha, stating, “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 has also requested the court to declare that the report by 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, is unconstitutional, null, and void due to the alleged violation of his right to a fair hearing under the Constitution.
In June, the state Assembly’s ad hoc committee submitted its investigative report on El-Rufai’s administration, highlighting financial misdealings, loans, and contracts. Committee Chairman Henry Zacharia alleged that loans secured during El-Rufai’s tenure were largely misused and that proper procedures were often not followed. Assembly Speaker Yusuf Liman further accused El-Rufai’s administration of misappropriating N432 billion, which has resulted in substantial financial burdens for the state.
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