Court orders El-Rufai’s remand after arraignment on corruption charges

The Federal High Court in Kaduna, Kaduna State, on Tuesday remanded former Governor Nasir El-Rufai in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

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Trial judge, Ridwan Aikawa, gave the order of further remand of Mr El-Rufai by the agency following the former Kaduna governor’s arraignment on 10 money laundering charges on Tuesday.

The ICPC, which has already detained Mr El-Rufai for over a month, arraigned him alongside Joel Adoga. Mr

Mr Adoaga’s name appeared as a co-defendant in only one of the 10 counts. Mr El-Rufai’s name featured in all 10 counts.

Both men pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

After the defendants’ not-guilty pleas, the judge ordered them to be remanded in ICPC custody, where Mr El-Rufai had been held since 18 February.

They are to remain in the agency’s custody till next Tuesday, 31 March, scheduled for the hearing of their bail applications.

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Before entering his plea on Tuesday, Mr El-Rufai challenged the judge’s impartiality, asking him to recuse himself from the case.

Mr El-Rufai, decked in green agbada with a cap to match, cited a petition he has against the judge.

But ICPC’s legal team countered, saying he must first enter his plea to the charges before he could make any complaint regarding the trial.

The judge agreed with the prosecution. The former governor and his co-defendant then entered their pleas of not guilty to the charges.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the arraignment took place amid heavy security within and around the court premises on Tuesday.

Armed security operatives from the State Security Service (SSS), the Nigerian police, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), blocked journalists from accessing the courts during proceedings.

PREMIUM TIMES relied on lawyers who were present in court for the details of the hearing.

Charges

In the charges filed on 18 March, ICPC accused Mr El-Rufai of fraudulently taking inflated severance pay of about N289.8 million at the end of each of his two terms in office, instead of N20 million that he was legitimately entitled to on each occasion.

The anti-graft agency alleged that Mr El-Rufai took the first N289.8 million in September 2020 – after completing his first term in office in May 2019 – and the second N289.8 million in January 2023 – months before the end of his second term in May 2023.

The pays totalled N579.7 million, instead of the about N40 million he was said to be entitled to for the two terms.

The commission added that each of the pays “represents 300% of your annual basic salary which you reasonably ought to have known that such fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption.”

It said the offences were contrary to Section 18(2}(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition} Act, 2022.

In the other eight counts, ICPC accused Mr El-Rufai of receiving deposits of alleged proceeds of corruption and fraud totalling $817,900 in tranches in his Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) domiciliary account. He allegedly received the deposits while he was serving as the governor of Kaduna State.

ICPC said Mr El-Rufai, who served two terms as governor from May 2015 to May 2023, received the deposits in tranches, ranging from $4,000 to $320,800. He allegedly received the deposits in the same domiciliary account from various individuals between 2016 and March 2023.

His co-defendant, Mr Adoga, appeared as a defendant in only one out of the 10 counts. But the commission named him in another count as one of the persons who deposited money in Mr El-Rufai’s dollar domiciliary account.

Background

ICPC rearrested Mr El Rufai on 18 February as soon as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) released him after two days of detaining him over corruption allegations.

PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier this month that the ICPC explained in a court filing that it was detaining Mr El-Rufai to conclude his investigation.

ICPC gave the explanation in a filing opposing a suit Mr El-Rufai filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, alleging that his arrest and detention violated his fundamental rights. He asked the court to declare the actions of the anti-graft agencies unlawful and to award him N1 billion in damages.

But the ICPC said it started investigating Mr El-Rufai after receiving a petition accusing him and officials of his administration of financial misconduct between 2015 and 2023.

READ ALSO: ICPC arraigns El-Rufai over alleged inflated N579.7m severance pays, $817,900 cash deposits fraud

The petition raised allegations relating to loans obtained by the Kaduna State Government, procurement processes, transfers from government accounts and payments to companies and individuals.

ICPC said it began preliminary investigations and obtained documents from banks and government institutions. It then issued an invitation letter dated 9 February.

Mr El-Rufai is also facing prosecution by the State Security Service (SSS) over alleged phone-tapping claims involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed 23 April for his arraignment in that case.

The former governor has challenged some of the actions taken against him in court, including a search conducted at his Abuja residence, which he described as unlawful.

He also filed a N1 billion suit against the ICPC, the Inspector-General of Police, and others, seeking to nullify the search warrant used for the operation and restrain authorities from relying on items recovered during the search.

The ICPC and the police have opposed the suit, maintaining that the search was conducted lawfully based on a valid court order.

He has denied any wrongdoing and described the investigations as politically motivated.