Court Places Former Governor El-Rufai in Custody Following Corruption Charges

On Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Kaduna mandated that former Governor Nasir El-Rufai be detained by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Presiding Judge Ridwan Aikawa issued the remand order after El-Rufai was arraigned on ten counts of money laundering.

The ICPC had already held El-Rufai for over a month before his arraignment, alongside his co-defendant, Joel Adoga, although Adoga was implicated in only one of the ten allegations.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges presented against them by the ICPC. Following their pleas, the judge reiterated the remand order, directing the agency to keep them in custody until their bail applications are heard on Tuesday, March 31.

Initially, as El-Rufai was entering his plea, he called into question the objectivity of the presiding judge, suggesting that he should step down due to an ongoing petition against him. Nonetheless, the ICPC's legal representatives asserted that he should first respond to the charges before lodging any complaints regarding the trial.

The judge concurred with the prosecution's stance, allowing the proceedings to continue with the defendants entering their not-guilty pleas.

This courtroom appearance, which was marked by significant security presence from the State Security Service, Nigerian Police, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, was conducted under tight restrictions. Reports indicate that journalists were barred from accessing the court, obtaining information only through legal representatives present during the proceedings.

In the charges lodged on March 18, the ICPC alleged that El-Rufai improperly received inflated severance payments amounting to approximately N289.8 million at the conclusion of both terms in office, as opposed to the N20 million he was legitimately entitled to receive each time.

According to the agency, El-Rufai took the first N289.8 million in September 2020 after completing his first term, and the second amount six months prior to the end of his second term in May 2023. When totaled, the improper payments approached N579.7 million, significantly exceeding the roughly N40 million he was supposed to receive for both terms.

The commission stated that these illicit funds violated the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Additionally, El-Rufai is accused of facilitating deposits tied to an estimated $817,900 believed to derive from corruption, received in smaller amounts over his governance period while managing his Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) domiciliary account.

The ICPC reiterated that many of these transactions occurred between 2016 and March 2023, detailing transfers varying from $4,000 to $320,800 from various individuals into his personal account. While his co-defendant, Adoga, was only named in one count, he was also recognized as one involved in the deposits into El-Rufai's account.

The ICPC re-arrested El-Rufai on February 18, following his release from two days of detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) related to similar corruption allegations. Records show that the ICPC has continued to detain him to finalize ongoing investigations that stem from a petition regarding financial misconduct involving El-Rufai and officials from his administration.

El-Rufai has also initiated legal actions contesting some of the operations against him, including a search executed at his residence, which he declared unlawful. Presently, the courts have also scheduled his arraignment for allegations related to claims of illegal phone tapping alongside the National Security Adviser, scheduled for April 23.