Former Governor Nasir El-Rufai has taken legal action against the Kaduna State House of Assembly for its allegation that N432 billion was embezzled during his eight-year tenure, resulting in significant debt for the state.
El-Rufai submitted a fundamental rights lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Kaduna against the state House of Assembly on Wednesday.
Represented by his lawyer, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), El-Rufai contested the findings of the Kaduna Assembly Committee that accused him of corruption.
An ad hoc committee established by the Kaduna State House of Assembly investigated the financial activities, loans, and contracts awarded during El-Rufai’s administration, ultimately indicting the former governor and some of his officials.
However, El-Rufai, through his media aide Muyiwa Adekeye, criticized the report, labeling it as false and defamatory.
“We are aware of news that the Kaduna State House of Assembly has adopted the report of the ad hoc committee it asked to probe the El-Rufai government. We have not been provided with a copy of the report, to which we would respond robustly whenever we obtain it. We affirm the integrity of the El-Rufai government and dismiss the scandalous claims being aired as the report of the committee,” Adekeye stated.
In his lawsuit, El-Rufai requested the court to declare that, according to 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, as approved by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, is unconstitutional and therefore null and void for violating his right to a fair hearing as guaranteed under the Constitution.
