NEWS
El-Rufai sues Kaduna Assembly over N432 billion embezzlement claims
Former Governor Nasir El-Rufai has initiated legal action against the Kaduna State House of Assembly, contesting allegations that his administration embezzled N432 billion and left the state with substantial debt obligations.
On Wednesday, El-Rufai filed a fundamental rights enforcement case at the Federal High Court in Kaduna. The lawsuit challenges the Assembly’s report accusing him of financial mismanagement during his tenure.
El-Rufai personally filed the lawsuit, alleging that the committee’s proceedings denied him a fair hearing. The details of the lawsuit were revealed in a statement by his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, shared on his X handle.
Photo: X (@MuyiwaAdekeye)
The lawsuit, prepared by El-Rufai’s lawyer Abdulhakeem Mustapha, disputes the findings of the Kaduna Assembly Committee. According to Adekeye, “His lawyer, AU Mustapha SAN, stated that El-Rufai approached the court as a Nigerian citizen entitled to a fair hearing before his rights can be determined by any quasi-judicial or investigative body or court, in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.”
El-Rufai is seeking a court declaration 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 and null and void due to the violation of his right to a fair hearing as guaranteed under the Constitution.
In June, the Kaduna State Assembly’s ad hoc committee submitted its investigative report on the financial dealings, loans, and contracts of El-Rufai’s administration. The committee, chaired by 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 claimed that El-Rufai’s administration misappropriated N432 billion, leading to significant financial burdens for the state.
