In what is seen as a major legal blow to former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, a Kaduna High Court has dismissed his libel and defamation suit against former Senator Shehu Sani who represented Kaduna Central senatorial district.
The suit was thrown out by the trial judge, Justice H. Balogun, on the grounds that it constituted an abuse of court process.
Justice Balogun’s judgment was based on the fact that El-Rufai had previously filed several suits over the same cause of action before different courts in Kaduna State.
Barr. Kimi Livingstone Appah, the defence counsel in the case, had initially filed a notice of preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.
The grounds for this objection were that the same case had been filed in four different courts in the state, constituting an abuse of court process.
Following the dismissal of El-Rufai’s suit by the Kaduna High Court, Appah addressed journalists, describing the ruling as a victory for democracy and freedom of expression.
He noted that the court had upheld the principles of judicial economy and the importance of respecting the integrity of the court system.
It would be recalled that El-Rufai had initially filed a N2 billion suit against Shehu Sani in 2018, seeking reliefs for alleged injuries suffered as a result of “statements” made by Sani.
El-Rufai had accused former Senator Shehu Sani of defamation, alleging that Sani had referred to him as a “drunk, loose cannon and an embarrassment to President Muhammadu Buhari.”
The acrimonious relationship between the two politicians has been well-documented, with their political differences often leading to heated altercations.
While El-Rufai has accused Sani of making false and defamatory statements about him, Sani has maintained that his criticisms of El-Rufai were based on his genuine concerns about the former governor’s policies and actions.
