By Our Correspondent
National News – The Court of Appeal in Kaduna has nullified the judgment earlier delivered by the Federal High Court in a fundamental human rights case filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and ordered that the matter be heard afresh before a different judge.
In a unanimous ruling delivered on March 17, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the earlier proceedings violated El-Rufai’s constitutional right to fair hearing.
The panel, comprising Justices Onyekachi Otisi, Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo and Sybil Gbagi, therefore set aside the July 30, 2024 judgment of the lower court.
The appeal, marked CA/K/240/2024, was instituted by El-Rufai against the Kaduna State House of Assembly and the state’s Attorney General following an investigation by an ad hoc committee of the Assembly.
The committee had examined financial activities, loans and contracts undertaken by the Kaduna State Government between May 29, 2015 and May 29, 2023.
During the probe, the committee reportedly indicted the former governor over an alleged N400bn financial mismanagement.
However, El-Rufai challenged the process in court, arguing that although about 70 individuals were invited by the lawmakers to testify during the investigation, he was never invited or given an opportunity to defend himself before conclusions were reached.
The Federal High Court initially declined jurisdiction and transferred the case to the Kaduna State High Court, prompting El-Rufai to approach the Court of Appeal.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Otisi stated that the central issue was whether the trial court had the jurisdiction to determine the case without credible evidence that the appellant was served a hearing notice.
The court noted that there was no reliable proof that El-Rufai had been properly served with the notice of hearing.
It stressed that service of court processes must be established through an affidavit of service or other valid documentary evidence.
The respondents had argued that notice was communicated through a text message sent to the appellant’s counsel, but the appellate court rejected the claim after observing inconsistencies in the phone numbers cited.
According to the court, failure to properly serve hearing notices undermines the foundation of any legal proceeding.
It added that without valid service, the court lacks the competence and jurisdiction to continue with the matter.
Consequently, the appellate court declared the entire proceedings null and void and ordered a fresh trial before another judge of the Federal High Court, directing all parties to bear their respective costs.
