Justice H.A.L Balogun of the Kaduna State High Court has dismissed a N2billion defamation suit filed by the immediate-past Governor of the state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai against former Kaduna Central senator, Senator Shehu Sani.
In a Thursday ruling, the judge dismissed the case on the grounds that it constituted an abuse of court processes, noting that the same case was filed by El-Rufai in different courts in the state.
In the suit filed in 2018, the ex-governor said Sani defamed him by referring to him as a “drunk, loose cannon and an embarrassment to President Muhammadu Buhari”.
He said that the alleged statement lowered his reputation before right-thinking members of the public.
The defence counsel, Barr. Kimi Livingstone Appah, 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.
Speaking to reporters after the ruling, Appah said, “This is a victory for democracy and freedom of expression.”
El-Rufai and Sani have been at loggerheads over their political differences for years.
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