Rita Odafe
Court Schedules a New Hearing Date for Respondent’s Applications
A Federal High Court in Kaduna State has set a fresh date for the lawsuit initiated by Nasir El-Rufai, the former Governor of Kaduna State.
El-Rufai had approached the court on June 26th to contest the investigation report of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, which accused him of corruption during his tenure.
He sought for the Assembly’s report to be deemed invalid, claiming that it infringed on his right to a fair trial as he was not granted the opportunity to defend himself against the allegations made by the House. The Attorney General of the State was also named as a respondent in his filing.
During the proceedings on Monday, Sani Katu, SAN, the representative of the state House of Assembly, informed the court of their intention to submit a preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear the case.
Consequently, a request for an extension was made by the lawyer to allow for the submission of all legal responses to the case brought against their client, Nasir El-Rufai.
The Kaduna State Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General, Sule Shauaibu, SAN, who is also a defendant in the case, similarly argued for more time.
El-Rufai’s lawyer, Sule Umoru, did not contest the plea for an extension of time. Following a review of all arguments put forward, Judge R.M AIKAWA resolved to postpone the case to July 17th, 2024, to enable the defendants to file all their applications, including the primary application.
