The Court of Appeal Nigeria has upheld the right of Nasir El‑Rufai to fair hearing.
The court nullified the judgment earlier delivered by Justice R.M. Aikawa of the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
The appellate court ruled that El-Rufai was not properly served with hearing notice during earlier proceedings.
It said the failure to serve hearing notice denied the appellant the opportunity to defend his case.
The court also noted that El-Rufai was not allowed to file a response to the respondents’ counter-affidavit.
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According to the court, such actions amounted to a denial of fair hearing.
The Court of Appeal therefore set aside the Federal High Court judgment delivered on July 30, 2024.
It also nullified proceedings held on July 18, 2024 due to lack of proper jurisdiction.
The appellate court ordered that the case be returned to the Federal High Court.
It directed that the matter be reassigned to another judge for fresh hearing.
El-Rufai had filed a fundamental rights suit against the Kaduna State House of Assembly in 2024.
He alleged denial of fair hearing during investigations conducted by the state legislature.
Dissatisfied with the Federal High Court ruling, he appealed the decision through his lawyer, A.U. Mustapha.
The Court of Appeal said service of hearing notice is fundamental to the jurisdiction of any court proceeding.
