ICPC Hits El-Rufai with New Corruption Charges
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has filed an amended nine-count charge against former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over alleged fraud, abuse of office, and corruption.
Counsel for the former governor, Ukpong Abang, disclosed this to journalists shortly after proceedings at the Kaduna State High Court on Monday. Abang said the prosecution amended the charges, dropping one of the earlier defendants and leaving El-Rufai as the sole defendant in the case.
According to him, at the resumed sitting, the court took the plea of the former governor and also entertained his bail application. “The charges are entirely new to us. They were given to us this morning while we were already in court. That is why the matter could not proceed to a hearing,” Abang said.
He added that the defence team would carefully study the amended charges before taking further steps. “We will analyse the charges and make our position known. For now, there is nothing we can do until we have fully reviewed them,” he stated.
The court subsequently adjourned the case to Tuesday, April 14, for ruling on the bail application.
In the charge marked KDH/KAD/ICPC/01/2026, the anti-graft agency alleged that El-Rufai committed multiple offences during his tenure as governor.
In Count One, the ICPC accused the former governor of inducing the Kaduna State Government in 2016 to confer a benefit of N11bn on Indokaduna MRTS JV Nigeria Limited for a light rail project allegedly not executed.
Counts Two and Three alleged that he used his office to approve and receive severance benefits of about N289.8m, above the legally approved N20m.
In Count Four, the prosecution alleged that El-Rufai dishonestly disposed of over $1m, said to be part of a World Bank loan to Kaduna State, in violation of the loan agreement.
Count Five accused him of conspiring with others still at large to offer inducement to federal investigators in a bid to compromise an ongoing probe.
Other counts bordered on alleged violations of procurement laws in the award of a multi-billion-naira CCTV contract, conferring undue advantage on associates, and unlawful land allocations.
The ICPC had earlier arraigned El-Rufai before Justice Darius Khobo alongside a businessman, Amadu Sule, on allegations of abuse of office, fraud, attempted fraud, and granting of undue advantage.
The former governor had been in ICPC custody from February 19 until March 28, when he was temporarily released on compassionate grounds to attend the burial of his mother.