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The political feud between ex-Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai and his successor, Uba Sani, continued in court Tuesday with the trial by the Kaduna government of a former aide to Mr El-Rufai.
The Kaduna State High Court Tuesday denied bail to Bashir Saidu, who served as Kaduna State Commissioner of Finance under Mr El-Rufai. The court ordered that he be remanded in prison.
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Mr Saidu is one of Mr El-Rufai’s aides being tried for corruption, allegations the former governor has described as a witch hunt targeted at him and his administration.
Mr Saidu, who also served as Mr El-Rufai’s chief of staff, is charged with 10 counts of money laundering, embezzlement and stealing, Daily Trust reported. He denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty before the court.
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The Kaduna State Government accuses Mr Saidu of causing the state financial loss by converting the state’s dollars to naira at below parallel market rates, a charge many consider curious considering parallel rates are not fixed and are often based on market forces and negotiations with currency traders.
The government also accuses Mr Saidu of mismanaging the proceeds of the sale of 11 government houses.
The former Commissioner was arrested on 2 January, and his lawyers filed his bail application on 16 January. On Tuesday, his lawyers argued that granting Mr Saidu bail would allow him adequate time and preparation to defend the charges against him.
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During the court hearing on Tuesday, the prosecutor, Nasiru Aliyu, opposed the bail application, arguing that the law provides that the prosecution be allowed seven days to file its response to the bail application, Daily Trust reported.
The judge ruled that the prosecution should be given adequate time, as provided by the law, to file its defence to the bail application.
The court then adjourned the matter to 23 January for a hearing of the bail application.
Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Kaduna is also expected to continue hearings this week into the charges filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against Mr Saidu and Jimi Lawal, who were both senior officials of the El Rufai administration.
The ICPC is accusing Mr Saidu of laundering N155 million and Mr Lawal of laundering N64 million.
An aide to Mr El-Rufai told PREMIUM TIMES that the two officials provided detailed explanations when questioned by the anti-graft agencies.
The aide who asked not to be named as the matter was already in court said the ICPC’s allegations against Mr Saidu were similar to those of the state government.
He said charging officials at the State High Court while the matter is already in a Federal High Court reflects a desire by Governor Sani to desperately hang corruption charges on Mr El-Rufai’s associates.
Buyers of government houses pay into the state treasury, not to the chairman of the committee supervising the sales process, the aide said, explaining that Mr Saidu had no access to the funds.
He also dismissed the charge of undercutting the state government during currency exchange saying it was a baseless allegation.
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The aide said the allegations against Mr Saidu and Mr Lawal were all meant to discredit the former governor, who fell out with his successor months after helping him to get elected in 2023.
Before the latest court filings, the Kaduna State House of Assembly had indicted Mr El-Rufai of allegedly siphoning the state government’s funds to the tune of over N423 billion.
The former governor, however, accused the state’s lawmakers of doing the incumbent governor’s bidding to tarnish Mr El-Rufai’s image and that of members of his government.
On Tuesday, a source close to Mr El-Rufai said that the government is only filing criminal charges to avoid the gathering impression that the campaign against Mr El-Rufai is yielding a damp squib, despite the considerable resources devoted to it.
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