Durbar Hotel: El-Rufai disobeys court order, Abacha’s family cries out
The family of late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, has cried out over the action of Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, in mobilising equipment to clear the site of the demolished Durbar Hotel despite a court order restraining him and government agencies from doing so.
A High Court in Kaduna presided over by Justice Hannatu Balogun on January 21 restrained Governor ElRufai and agencies of the Kaduna State government from demolishing and taking over Durbar Hotel Plc.
Daily Trust recalls that the governor had in a letter dated December 31, 2019, addressed to Alhaji Mohammed Abacha revoked the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) belonging to the disputed Durbar Hotel located along Gen. Muhammadu Buhari/ Independence Way, Kaduna.
The lawyer to the Abacha’s family, Dr Reuben Atabo, told journalists on Wednesday in Kaduna that the governor was alleged to have concluded plans to turn the hotel land into a public garden and relaxation spot.
He noted that Governor ElRufai had moved equipment to the land and clearing of the site had begun in earnest in the past one week.
“We were surprised to see a caterpillar clearing the site in the first week of May till date when Kaduna High Court has fixed May 30, 2021, to rule on the injunction restraining the defendants from interfering with the land,” the family lawyer said.
Dr Atabo, who was represented by Mr Joshua Rimven at a press briefing in Kaduna, said, “We are suspecting the government of Kaduna State to have taken caterpillar to the site to clear the place because we have a case between the demolished Durbar Hotel and the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai as the first defendant.
“Other defendants are the Attorney General of the State and Commissioner for Justice, Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Agency (KASUPDA) as well as the Kaduna Geographic Information Service (KADGIS).
“When we asked them they said it was the Kaduna State
Commissioner for Works that sent them to do so.”
When contacted on phone to react to the allegation of contempt, the State Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP), Mr Bayero Dari, said he was not in a position to react to the allegation.
He instead directed our reporter to the Special Adviser to Governor Nasir el-Rufai on Media and Communication, Mr Muyiwa Adekeye.
However, Mr Adekeye did not respond to calls put across to him for his response on alleged contempt of court by the state government.