The Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna State has reserved judgement in the suit filed by the immediate past Governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, seeking the nullification of the report of the Ad-Hoc Committee of the State House of Assembly, which indicted him and his administration in an alleged N423 billion fraud.
At the court sitting ymon Thursday, the counsel for the respondents adopted their respective processes and prayed the court to dismiss the suit.
Counsel for the Kaduna State House of Assembly, the 1st respondent, Femi Falana (SAN) argued that the court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate on the fundamental rights case filed by El-Rufai or dismiss the report of the Assembly based on its constitutional mandate.
On his part, the Kaduna State Commissioner of Justice, Sule Shuaibu (SAN), and a respondent in the suit filed his preliminary and substantive objections, that the court should dismiss the case on the premise that the court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate on the matter.
He also asked the court to dismiss the substantial suit for lack of cause of action against the Attorney General and for being speculative.
Both respondents further argued that the applicants did not bring the report of the Kaduna State House of Assembly before the court, which they sought the court to declare as unconstitutional, null and void.
They, therefore, prayed the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety for lacking in merit.
However, counsel for Nasir El-Rufai, Abdulhakeem Mustapha (SAN), was not present in court.
The presiding judge, Justice
Rilwan M. Aikawa, after listening to the counsel, said a date for judgement would be communicated to the parties involved.
Recall that El-Rufai had in June 2024, personally filed a fundamental rights case at the court, challenging the report by the House on the grounds that it did not give him a fair hearing during its sitting.
In the suit, El-Rufai, through his lawyer, Mustapha, asked the court to declare the Assembly’s report as null and void.
The respondents to the case are the Kaduna State House of Assembly and the state Attorney General.
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