EFCC Hands Over El-Rufai to ICPC Over Alleged N432bn Fraud

By Adedapo Adesanya

Former Kaduna State Governor, Mr Nasir El-Rufai, has been moved from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to that of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in the latest dramatic turn in the investigation of an alleged misappropriation of N432 billion.

The ICPC confirmed late Wednesday that the former governor was currently in its custody in connection with ongoing investigations.

In a statement issued just before midnight, the commission’s Head of Media and Public Communications, Mr J. Okor Odey, said, “Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, the former Governor of Kaduna State, is in the custody of the Commission in connection with investigations.”

The anti-graft agency, however, did not provide details on the specific allegations under review or the duration of his stay in custody.

Mr El-Rufai’s transfer to the ICPC comes amid broader scrutiny of financial transactions and projects undertaken during his tenure as Kaduna State governor between 2015 and 2023.

The EFCC interrogation is rooted in the report of the Kaduna State House of Assembly’s ad hoc committee constituted in 2024 to investigate finances, loans and contracts awarded between 2015 and 2023 under Mr El-Rufai’s administration.

Presenting the committee’s report during plenary last year, the committee chairman, Mr Henry Zacharia, alleged that most of the loans obtained by the El-Rufai administration within the eight years were not utilised for the purposes for which they were secured.

While receiving the report, the Speaker of the House, Mr Yusuf Dahiru Leman, alleged that about N423 billion was siphoned under the El-Rufai administration, leaving Kaduna State with heavy financial liabilities and a rising debt profile.

The committee recommended the investigation and prosecution of the former governor and several members of his cabinet over alleged abuse of office, award of contracts without due process, diversion of public funds, money laundering and reckless borrowing.

The Assembly subsequently endorsed a petition to the EFCC and the ICPC, urging them to take up the matter.

The legislative report also referenced disputed cash payments and contracts amounting to over N155 million, as well as the alleged diversion of N1.37bn earmarked for a light rail project. It also cited the purported laundering of N64.8 million by senior aides.

Mr El-Rufai has consistently denied the allegations, describing the probe as politically motivated and insisting that all loans obtained during his tenure were duly appropriated and applied to infrastructural development, education reforms, healthcare upgrades and security interventions.

Recall that the Federal Government has filed criminal charges against Mr El-Rufai in Abuja over alleged unlawful interception of the phone communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

The three-count charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026 and filed under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, accused the former FCT minister of admitting during a television interview that he and unnamed associates unlawfully intercepted Ribadu’s communications.