Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nigeria, Nasir El-Rufai, has filed a petition against Justice R.M Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Kaduna, alleging bias and requesting the transfer of his case to another judge.
The petition, addressed to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, follows a suit El-Rufai filed in June 2024 challenging a probe report by the Kaduna State House of Assembly. The report indicted him for alleged misappropriation of ₦423 billion in public funds. In his suit, El-Rufai asked the court to declare the Assembly’s report null and void, arguing it violated his constitutional right to a fair hearing.
Despite the absence of El-Rufai’s counsel, Abdulhakeem Mustapha, Justice Aikawa proceeded with hearing the respondents’ preliminary and substantive objections. This prompted El-Rufai to demand a transfer of the case, citing the judge’s decision to hear the matter without his representation as an act of “extreme bias, injustice, and denial of a fair hearing.”
The former governor insists that moving the case to another judge is necessary to ensure justice and a fair hearing.
