Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has dragged the state House of Assembly to the state Federal High Court over allegations of siphoning N432 billion during his eight-year tenure.

An ad hoc committee set up by the Yusuf Liman-led Assembly to probe finances, loans and contracts awarded by the last administration, indicted Mr El-Rufai, and some members of his cabinet.

According to the lawmakers, the alleged mismanaged funds left the administration of Governor Uba Sani, with a huge debt burden.

But in a fundamental rights suit on Wednesday, counsel to El-Rufai, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, challenged the report, and asked the court to declare that by the provisions of Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, the report by the Ad-Hoc Committee on Investigation of Loans, Financial Transactions, Contractual Liabilities and Other Related Matters of the Government of Kaduna State from 29 May 2015 to 29 May 2023, as ratified by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, is unconstitutional and therefore null and void for violating his right to fair hearing as guaranteed under the Constitution.

El-Rufai’s media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, had described the Assembly’s report as false and scandalous.

Mr Adekeye said, “We are aware of news that the Kaduna State House of Assembly has adopted the report of the ad hoc committee it asked to probe the El-Rufai government. We have not been provided with a copy of the report, to which we would respond robustly whenever we obtain it. We affirm the integrity of the El-Rufai government and dismiss the scandalous claims being aired as the report of the committee.”