According to human rights attorney Mike Ozekhome, El-Rufai need to be granted a fair trial in the investigation of his administration.
El-Rufai was charged with corruption by a committee of the Kaduna House of Assembly, which was established to look into the former governor’s administration. The committee also made additional recommendations. Although the committee had completed its task, Ozekhome contended that El-Rufai should be given the opportunity to refute the accusations.
“I am not the oracle of Ile Ife [in Osun State] who would go look into the future and declare it the need for the next Ooni to be. Nor am I a Nostradamus, the man who saw tomorrow. Thus, I couldn’t predict the result,” he stated on Thursday’s episode of Sunrise Daily on Channels Television. However, I believe El-Rufai should be granted his right to a fair trial regardless of the outcome. The governor has only been instructed to carry out the assembly’s recommendation.
“After taking a look at it, the governor might decide that it isn’t worth the effort right now. Let’s address other [issues]. Others would counter, “Let’s get serious—N423 billion is not a small amount—that they are accusing him of.” Therefore, remember that El-Rufai has its own fundamental rights that need to be upheld, regardless of the outcome. He might choose, for instance, to contest the accusation in court.
You might argue that he wasn’t given a fair trial. He never received a call. He remarked, “I’m not sure if he was summoned to come and defend himself. Was he properly invited, Ozekhome inquired? Was he allowed a chance to present his case? If that is the case and he opted to remain put, then is a different story. Thus, it becomes mandatory for me to [comment on it] because I do not have all those responsibilities. “A person cannot be indicted via proxy. No, you don’t, especially when it comes to something that can be criminal in nature. That cannot be done using a proxy. Thus, it must be the individual, the attorney declared.
