A Kaduna State High Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to former Governor Nasir El-Rufai and adjourned his trial to the first week of June. The court ordered that he remain in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) pending further proceedings. Presiding judge, Justice Darius Khobo, fixed the adjournment after hearing arguments from both parties, directing that the case would proceed on a day-to-day basis at the next sitting.
El-Rufai is facing a nine-count charge brought by the ICPC, bordering on alleged abuse of office, fraud, and other financial infractions during his tenure as governor of Kaduna State.
Among the allegations is that he induced the state government to release about N11 billion to an unregistered entity for a light rail project that was never executed.
He is also accused of approving and receiving about N289.8 million as severance allowance above the legally approved amount, as well as mismanaging over $1.08 million from a World Bank facility.
Other counts include the alleged unlawful award of a N4.6 billion CCTV contract, land-related infractions, and attempts to compromise investigators.
The former governor has denied all the allegations, describing the case as politically motivated and an act of persecution.
Journalists were barred from the courtroom during the proceedings, but defence counsel, Ubong Akpan (SAN), addressed reporters afterward, criticising the court’s decision, particularly the denial of bail.
He said: “The court, in its wisdom, decided that because Nasir El-Rufai is a former governor, therefore he is going to interfere with the investigation. Consequently, he is not entitled to bail in an allegation of financial impropriety.”
Akpan added: “We are grateful to His Lordship for the learning he has shown, but we respectfully disagree. That’s the end of it; there’s not much more to say.” He said the defence would challenge the ruling and pursue further legal steps, insisting: “From the beginning, everything about Nasir El-Rufai’s travails has always been political. This is mainly the legal arm of it. We will deal with whatever comes.”