From Noah Ebije, Kaduna
Former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has sued the Kaduna State House of Assembly at the Federal High Court in Kadunaover defamation of character following a probe report that indicted him of alleged N423 billion fraud between May 2015 to May 2023.
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El-Rufai is demanding a public apology from the lawmakers for a report they published, which he claims defamed him and his cabinet.
Through his counsel, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), El-Rufai challenged the report of the Kaduna Assembly Committee which indicted El-Rufai for alleged corruption
El-Rufai’s legal team argued that the report is both false and malicious, designed to tarnish his reputation and discredit his administration’s achievements.
The legal team asserted that the allegations have caused significant harm to his personal and professional standing.
In the suit, El-Rufai asked the court to declare that by the provisions of 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 ratified by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, is unconstitutional and therefore null and void for violating his right to fair hearing as guaranteed under the Constitution.
Recall that the ad hoc committee set up by the Kaduna State House of Assembly to investigate all finances, loans and contracts awarded under Nasir El-Rufai submitted its report to governor Uba Sani in which it indicted the ex-governor and some of his appointees.
But El-Rufai, in a swift reaction by his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, knocked the report, describing it as false and scandalous.
“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 had said.
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