A Kano high court has stopped the state house of assembly from investigating Abdullahi Ganduje, governor of the state, over an alleged criminal case.
Ahmed Badamasi, a judge, gave the ruling on Thursday that the house of assembly lacks the power to investigate or invite the governor on the alleged bribe-taking.
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 the 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 was 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 multiple bills of dollars as kickbacks from contractors.
Governor Ganduje has, however, denied the allegation, insisting the video was doctored.
