A Kano high court has ruled that
the state house of assembly lacks the power to investigate or invite Abdullahi
Ganduje, governor of the state, over any alleged criminal case.
Ahmed Badamasi, a judge, gave the
ruling on Thursday.
He said the power to investigate
criminal charges is vested in the police, Economic Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC).
The judge said the assembly, by
constitution, only has the power to make law and review existing law but not
the power to investigate criminal matters
The suit was filed by Muhammad
Zubairu, national coordinator of Lawyers for Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria,
a pro-democracy group.
Joined as defendants in the suit
were Baffa Dangundi, chairman of the investigative panel of the house, and the
attorney general of the state.
Nuraini Jimoh, counsel to the
plaintiff, applauded the ruling while Muhammad Waziri, the defendant’s lawyer,
said he would consult his clients on their next line of action.
The state assembly had set up a
seven-man committee to investigate the bribery allegation against Ganduje.
On November 5, the court had
ordered the house to suspend the probe while ruling on an ex parte application
by Zubair.
But the assembly vowed not to
comply with the order.
The chairman of the committee
investigating the issue had said the court order did not stop the panel from
continuing with the investigation.
However, on November 13, the
assembly eventually succumbed to the order, saying the house is a law-abiding
arm of government, hence, it would obey the court and suspend all forms of
investigation on the case pending the court judgement.
In videos published by Daily
Nigerian, an online publication, Ganduje was seen allegedly receiving kickbacks
from contractors.
The governor has denied the
allegation, saying the video was doctored.
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