A former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, was on Tuesday arraigned before the Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna over alleged corruption involving inflated severance payments and illicit foreign currency transactions.
The arraignment, initiated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, followed a 10-count charge bordering on money laundering and fraud.
El-Rufai was docked alongside a co-defendant, Joel Adoga, before Justice Ridwan Aikawa. Both defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Following their pleas, the court ordered that they be remanded in the custody of the anti-graft agency pending further proceedings.
The former governor had reportedly been in ICPC custody for over a month prior to his arraignment.
Alleged N579.7m Severance Fraud
In the charge sheet marked FHC/KD/73C/2026 and filed on March 18, 2026, the ICPC alleged that El-Rufai unlawfully received inflated severance allowances amounting to N579.7 million while in office.
According to the prosecution, the former governor allegedly collected N289.8 million on two separate occasions—September 2020 and January 2023—far above the legally approved entitlement of about N20 million, representing 300 per cent of his annual basic salary.
The commission argued that the funds constituted proceeds of unlawful acts and were knowingly received by the defendant in violation of provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Beyond the severance pay allegations, the anti-corruption agency accused El-Rufai of receiving multiple dollar-denominated deposits totalling $817,900 into his domiciliary account with Guaranty Trust Bank between 2016 and 2023.
The prosecution alleged that the funds were paid in tranches by different individuals, including one Joel Adoga and others said to be at large.
Specifically, the ICPC alleged that $320,800 was deposited by Adoga over time, while additional sums—$155,800 and $305,300—were traced to other individuals in 2022 alone.
Other transactions listed in the charges include smaller deposits ranging from $4,000 to $10,000 allegedly made between 2016 and 2017 in Abuja and Kaduna.
The commission maintained that the former governor “reasonably ought to have known” that the funds were proceeds of corruption and fraud.
Conspiracy Charge
In one of the counts, the ICPC accused El-Rufai and Adoga of conspiring to disguise the origin of $10,000 paid into the former governor’s account in July 2019.
The offence, according to the prosecution, contravenes provisions of Nigeria’s anti-money laundering laws.
The arraignment, which took place under heavy security presence, drew attention from legal practitioners and political observers.
As of the time of filing this report, the court had yet to fix a date for the commencement of trial.
If convicted, the defendants risk penalties as stipulated under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
'
'Do you want to share a story with us? Do you want to advertise with us? Do you need publicity for a product, service, or event? Contact us on WhatsApp +2348183319097 Email: platformtimes@gmail.com
We are committed to impactful investigative journalism for human interest and social justice. Your donation will help us tell more stories. Kindly donate any amount HERE
