Kaduna Assembly hires Falana to prosecute Ex-Gov El-Rufai

The Kaduna State House of Assembly has enlisted the services of renowned human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), to lead the prosecution of former governor Nasir El-Rufai over allegations of corruption.

As reported by Sahara Reporters, Falana will spearhead a team of lawyers commencing investigations on Thursday in Kaduna to uncover the alleged widespread corruption.

The former governor is accused of mismanaging approximately N423 billion in loans obtained during his administration.

The Assembly alleges that these loans were misappropriated, not used for their intended purposes, and that proper procedures were often not followed in securing them. Nasir El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna State for two terms from 2015 to 2023, has consistently denied these allegations, claiming they are politically motivated.

In response to these denials, the Assembly reaffirmed its stance on the financial misconduct accusations. The lawmakers also criticized efforts by political appointees from El-Rufai’s administration, who recently held a press conference in Abuja, attempting to discredit the Assembly and conceal the alleged fraud.

Henry Magaji, Chairman of the Fact-Finding Committee and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, issued a statement addressing these accusations.

He stated, “The attention of the Kaduna State House of Assembly has been drawn to a press conference addressed by some senior political appointees of the immediate past administration of Malam Nasir El-Rufai. The former political appointees made strenuous efforts to pick holes in the report of the Probe Committee.

“They resorted to name-calling and wild allegations on the motivations for the House Probe. We wish to state as follows: The press conference was just a rehash of the vituperations and innuendoes heaped on us by the former political appointees in their first press briefing. There was nothing new that should warrant our response.

“They failed to address the main issue, which is the systematic and coordinated cornering of the resources of Kaduna State through phoney contracts and outright looting.”

Magaji further added, “If they genuinely have the interest of Kaduna State and are truly men and women of integrity, they would have applied themselves to developing the state instead of participating in the alleged pilfering of its scarce resources.”