El-Rufai Files Suit Against Kaduna Assembly for ₦432 billion Investigation Report
Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, sued the Kaduna State House of Assembly on the latter’s allegation that his eight-year administration embezzled $432 billion, leaving the state heavily indebted.
El-Rufai sued the state house of assembly for fundamenatal rights on Wednesday in the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
On behalf of the former governor, Nigerian Senior Advocate Abdulhakeem Mustapha brought the lawsuit contesting El-Rufai’s prosecution by the Kaduna Assembly Committee for suspected corruption.
Because the committee had not allowed him the opportunity for a fair hearing regarding the charges levelled against him and his government, El-Rufai requested in the lawsuit that the Assembly probe’s report be deemed unlawful.
Respondents in the lawsuit are the Commissioner of Justice, the state Attorney General, and the Kaduna State House of Assembly.
The House received the report of the special committee appointed by the state parliament to look into all loans, contracts, and finances given out by the El-Rufai administration earlier in June.
Ad hoc committee chairman Henry Zacharia noted that while some loans were secured without following correct procedure, the majority of loans obtained under El-Rufai’s administration were not used for the intended purpose.
Speaker of the Assembly Yusuf Liman also claimed that El-Rufai’s administration reportedly stole ₦423 billion, leaving the state with enormous liabilities.
The committee therefore advised that El-Rufai and a few of his cabinet members be looked into and prosecuted by security and anti-corruption organisations for alleged money laundering, diversion of public monies, and abuse of office.
The committee also suggested suspending Shizer Badda, the Commissioner of Finance, who held the same position during El-Rufai’s administration, immediately.
Responding, El-Rufai’s spokesman Muyiwa Adekeye dismissed the committee’s allegations as scandalous and reaffirmed the integrity of the El-Rufai administration.
“Malam Nasir El-Rufai is incredibly proud of his legacy in Kaduna State and his record of governance,” he declared. This track record of continuously strong performance in public and private office cannot be changed by any malevolent attempt to use the state legislature’s privileges for slander and unjustified smears.
“Because they were confident in the calibre of their work and the integrity with which they served Kaduna State, many of the El-Rufai government officials appeared before the ad hoc committee.” They had no illusions about taking part in an impartial procedure. Ad hoc committee was obviously just going through the motions of an inquiry to provide some gloss to preconceived results.
Such a repugnant break from any idea of justice and humanity by a state legislature is heartbreaking. We view the assertions made in connection with the report with contempt.
“Malam El-Rufai wants to reassure astute Nigerians that, with the support of a dedicated and patriotic staff, he has served Kaduna State with honesty and to the best of his ability. In all he did while governor, he followed the law. This cynical investigation ought to be written off as a politically driven hatchet job.