The immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has signed the affidavit supporting his fundamental rights enforcement case against the Kaduna State House of Assembly and the state government.

El-Rufai, who served as Kaduna State Governor between 2015 and 2023, signed the affidavit at the Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.

Speaking to journalists, El-Rufai’s lawyer, AU Mustapha (SAN), said the former governor approached the court as a Nigerian citizen who is entitled to be given a fair hearing before his rights can be determined by a quasi-judicial or investigative body or courts in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights.

According to him, El-Rufai also asked the court to declare that by the provisions of Section 36 of the constitution, 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 May 29, 2015, to May 29, 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.

El-Rufai speaks on probe, says ‘I served Kaduna with integrity’

The House had, on June 5, 2024, recommended El-Rufai’s prosecution over alleged abuse of office and money laundering in his administration.

The House made the declaration following the investigation of the ad-hoc committee led by Henry Zacharia.

The Speaker of the House, Yusuf Liman, said N423 billion was siphoned during the former governor’s administration, leaving the state with huge liabilities.

The report submitted by the committee said most of the loans obtained during the former governor’s administration were not used for their intended purpose, and in some cases, due process was not followed in securing the loans.

Reacting to the allegation, El-Rufai described the report as a product of a politically motivated hatchet job.

The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) stated that he complied with all extant laws in all his activities while he was the governor of Kaduna State.

The Star