N423bn Probe: Court Reserves Judgement In El-Rufai’s Suit Against Kaduna Assembly
The Federal High Court in Kaduna State has reserved judgment in the suit filed by Mr Nasir El-Rufai.
El-Rufai, the former Kaduna State Governor, is seeking the nullification of the report of the Ad-Hoc Committee of the State House of Assembly, which indicted him and his administration in an alleged N423 billion fraud.
He had in June, 2024 filed a fundamental rights case at the court challenging the house report because the house did not give him a fair hearing during its sitting.
In the suit, El-Rufai, through his lawyer, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN) is asking the court to declare the assembly’s report as null and void.
The respondents to the case are the Kaduna State House of Assembly and the state Attorney General.
During the court session on Thursday, all the respondents adopted their respective processes and prayed the court to dismiss the suit.
Counsel to the Kaduna State House of Assembly, which is the first respondent, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, argued that the court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate on the fundamental rights case filed by El-Rufai or dismiss the report of the Assembly based on its constitutional mandate.
On his part, the Kaduna State Commissioner of Justice, Sule Shauaibu, SAN, and also a respondent in the suit, filed his preliminary and substantive objections that the court should dismiss the case on the premise that the court lacks jurisdiction to adjucate on the matter.
He also asked the court to dismiss the substantial suit for lack of cause of action against the Attorney General and for being speculative.
Both respondents further argued that the applicants did not bring the report of the Kaduna State House of Assembly before the Court, which they sought the court to declare as unconstitutional, null and void.
They therefore, prayed the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety for lacking in merit.
The counsel to Nasir El-Rufai, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, a senior advocate of Nigeria, was not present in court. However, after listening to the lawyers in the suit, the presiding judge, Justice R.M AIKAWA, said a date for judgment will be communicated to the parties involved.
