El-Rufai vs ICPC: What Happened When Ex-Gov Appeared in Court
The camp of the former governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, has disclosed what transpired at the Federal High Court in Kaduna when the chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) was arraigned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday, March 24.
Muyiwa Adekeye, the media adviser to the former governor, explained that the court adjourned the proceedings on the bail application of the former Kaduna governor. He added that this was after the legal team of El-Rufai asked the presiding judge, Justice R. M. Aikawa, to recuse himself from the case.
Source: Twitter
The legal team reminded the court of the petition against the judge by the former governor. The petition is pending before the National Judicial Council (NJC).
However, "Justice Aikawa ruled that he would at least conduct the arraignment of the two defendants, and hear the matter of his recusal if counsel would bring it by way of a formal written application. The court adjourned proceedings to 31 March 2026 for the hearing of bail and any other applications filed on behalf of Malam El-Rufai and Mr Joel Adoga," the statement partly read.
On March 17, the Court of Appeal set aside the ruling of Justice Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Kaduna in the suit filed by the immediate past governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, against the State House of Assembly. In the appellate judgment marked by CA/K/240/2024, the Court of Appeal held that the hearings at the trial court were not valid because of the breach of the rights of the former governor to a fair hearing.
The appellate court found that the lower court sat on July 18, 2024, without any evidence that El-Rufai was served with a hearing notice. Thus, he was being denied the chance to participate in the proceedings. The court also held that the former governor was not given the opportunity to respond to the counter-affidavit by the respondents, saying such omission was a violation of due process.
As a result of the findings, the Court of Appeal nullified the rulings by Justice Aikawa on July 30, 2024, and set them aside over what it described as a lack of jurisdiction. It was ordered that the case should be returned to the Federal High Court and be reassigned to another judge.
El-Rufai's petition against the judge was based on the ruling of the Court of Appeal. In the petition, the former governor accused the judge of "gross bias, injustice, and denial of fair hearing."
Read the full statement on X here:
Source: Legit.ng
