The Kaduna Division of the Court of Appeal has directed the Federal High Court (FHC) to rehear former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s application seeking enforcement of his fundamental rights against the State House of Assembly.
The appellate court ruled that the FHC’s July 30, 2024 judgment violated El-Rufai’s right to a fair hearing, nullifying the earlier decision and ordering the Chief Judge, Justice John Tsoho, to reassign the case for a fresh hearing.
El-Rufai had challenged an ad-hoc committee set up by the Assembly to investigate Kaduna State’s loans, contracts, and financial transactions between May 2015 and May 2023. Despite summoning about 70 witnesses, the committee did not invite El-Rufai until after it concluded its investigation, ultimately issuing a report indicting him over alleged N400 billion fraud.
He argued that the Assembly and the Attorney-General of Kaduna State breached his constitutional right to fair hearing and challenged the procedures that led to the refusal of his application in the lower court. The FHC initially declined jurisdiction, transferring the case to the Kaduna State High Court.
In a March 17, 2026 judgment, Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi, alongside Justices Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo and Sybil Nwaka Gbagi, agreed with El-Rufai, stating that the lower court’s handling of his application amounted to a denial of his fundamental rights. The Court of Appeal emphasized that the July 30, 2024 judgment was a nullity and must be set aside.
The appellate court ordered that the matter be reheard from scratch before a different judge of the FHC, with parties bearing their costs.