Former Governor El-Rufai has asked the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to move his case from Justice Aikawa to another judge.
In June 2024, El-Rufai filed a lawsuit challenging a report by the Kaduna State House of Assembly that accused him of misusing ₦423 billion of public funds.
El-Rufai asked the court to declare the Assembly’s report invalid because it violated his right to a fair hearing, as guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.
On Thursday, Justice Aikawa postponed the ruling after hearing objections from the respondents. El-Rufai’s lawyer, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, was not present.
Unhappy with the decision being made without his lawyer, El-Rufai asked for the case to be transferred to another judge. He claimed that the judge’s decision to proceed without his lawyer showed bias and denied him a fair hearing.
In another case, Philip Shaibu returned to Edo State on Thursday after being reinstated as deputy governor by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja. Shaibu had been impeached by the state assembly months earlier.
The court ordered that Shaibu’s salaries and allowances be paid from April when he was impeached. The court also prevented Governor Obaseki and the Edo State House of Assembly from stopping Shaibu from performing his duties. Additionally, the Inspector General of Police was ordered to restore Shaibu’s security details.
