Witness Tells Court El-Rufai Allegedly Planned $600,000 Bribe to Halt EFCC Investigation

Aforensic investigator has told a Kaduna State High Court that former Governor Nasir El-Rufai and some others allegedly plotted to pay $600,000 to some Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials to frustrate their investigation.

The testimony by Segun Kayode, a Forensic Investigator of the State Security Service (SSS), was the first prosecution witness statement.

Alleged Payments

Giving evidence before Justice Darius Khobo, Kayode said $500,000 and $100,000 was set aside to bribe EFCC officials and some other intermediaries.

The investigator said forensic audio recordings indicated that Mr. El-Rufai and some others were discussing ways of frustrating the EFCC investigation on a company named Singularity.

Kayode said the people involved in the meeting included a SAN, an aide, and Bashir El-Rufai, the former governor’s son. He said the SAN and the aide were told to get liquidation papers from Ahmadu Sule that previously bought another company, which was liquidated.

Kayode added that the conversation further showed that the trio wanted to liquidate Singularity here and in Mauritius, where the company was under the radar of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

He also stated that they discussed how the EFCC probe on an unspecified New York Stock Exchange company can be thwarted.

Defence objection

Mr. El-Rufai’s counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN), objected to the evidence on the grounds that neither the name nor the contents of the witness’s evidence were stated in the prosecution’s proof of evidence. He argued that it was not open for the court to allow the evidence of a witness whose name and contents were not found in the proof of evidence as it prejudiced his client’s right to a fair hearing.

ICPC lead counsel Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN) said Mr. Kayode’s evidence was taken because he was a subpoenaed witness. He said the court had issued the subpoena and signed it on 30th June 2026 and argued that the objection raised by Mr. Erokoro was not sufficient to stop the subpoena.

Justice Khobo noted the objection but said it did not automatically negate the evidence of the witness. The judge further said the defence would be given an opportunity to cross-examine the witness. He further admitted Kayode’s hardcopy findings as exhibit 1 and recalled the defence’s Certified True Copy for their perusal.

Background to the case

The hearing, which started at 2:00 pm, lasted almost eight hours, including two hours for playing the audio recordings.

The court will reconvene on 30th November and 1st December 2026 to continue with the cross-examination.

Mr. El-Rufai arrived at the court complex escorted by heavy security at almost eleven am. He was accompanied to the court by Isah Ashiru, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) gubernatorial aspirant in Kaduna State. Mr. El-Rufai appeared before the court in compliance with a court order summoning him by the ICPC.

The case against the former Governor arises from a Kaduna State House of Assembly committee report on a Public Procurement audit that questioned the allocation decisions of the state’s public treasury during his regime.

The ICPC has pressed charges against Mr. El-Rufai in several federal and state courts. The charges include the allegation that he tapped the phone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. Mr. El-Rufai has consistently pleaded not guilty and challenged the allegations as politically motivated.

The former Governor has been in the custody of the ICPC since 18th February 2026 after the trial judges directed his detention. His lawyers have argued before the court that his detention was not justified as he was being persecuted by the ICPC.

Source: premiumtimesng.com