Kaduna, Nigeria – Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai has been arraigned before a Federal High Court in Kaduna by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on charges linked to alleged money laundering involving about 579 million naira and 320,800 dollars in purported unlawful benefits and foreign currency inflows.
Okay News reports that El-Rufai arrived at the courthouse under tight security around 9:34 a.m. on Tuesday for the start of proceedings, with prosecutors alleging that he abused his office by receiving severance payments far above his lawful entitlement and carrying out financial transactions connected to the proceeds of corruption in breach of Nigeria’s Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022.
According to the charge sheet, the former governor is accused of collecting 289,826,998.12 naira in September 2020 and another 289,826,998.12 naira in January 2023 as severance allowances, bringing the total to roughly 579 million naira, even though his legitimate entitlement was put at about 20,013,245 naira, with one count stating that he “reasonably ought to have known” the excess sums formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act.
In related counts, investigators allege that El-Rufai received multiple foreign currency payments into a domiciliary account held with Guaranty Trust Bank from various individuals, raising suspicions of illicit transfers and attempts to conceal funds, while additional charges refer to 320,800 dollars said to be tied to these inflows.
The arraignment, which was still underway at the time of reporting, adds to a growing list of legal challenges for the former governor, following an earlier three count case filed by the Department of State Services over alleged unlawful interception of communications involving the office of the National Security Adviser.
Subsequently, El-Rufai was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and detained after honouring the summons on February 16 before being granted bail on February 18, only to be taken into custody shortly afterwards by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in what has become a multi agency probe into his conduct in office.
Taken together, the new money laundering case and earlier security related charges point to a broader investigation into alleged financial misconduct and national security breaches during and after his tenure, with the court process now expected to test the evidence gathered by the different Nigerian anti graft and security bodies.
