Crime Watch:
Former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai budgeted $600,000 to settle EFCC officials, DSS Witness tells Court
A forensic investigator with the Department of State Services (DSS), Segun Kayode, on Tuesday alleged that former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and some of his associates earmarked $600,000 to pay officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and intermediaries.
Kayode, the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial, made the allegation while testifying before the Kaduna State High Court sitting in Kawo, Kaduna, presided over by Justice Darius Khobo.
The witness told the court that $500,000 and $100,000 were allegedly set aside for the payments. He added that forensic audio recordings captured conversations involving El-Rufai and some of his suspected associates.
According to Kayode, the recorded conversations centred on alleged efforts to frustrate an EFCC investigation into a company identified as Singularity.
He said a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, one other individual, and Bashir El-Rufai were among those allegedly mentioned in the conversations.
The investigator told the court that the Senior Advocate and the other individual were allegedly directed to meet one Ahmadu Sule to obtain a template previously used to liquidate another company, with the intention of applying a similar process to Singularity.
Kayode further alleged that the discussions included plans to liquidate the company in Nigeria and Mauritius, where it was reportedly under investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.
He also alleged that the recordings contained discussions about preventing the EFCC from investigating a company, which he said was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The allegations formed part of the prosecution’s evidence against the former governor and have yet to be established by the court.
Proceedings lasted nearly eight hours, from 12:26 pm to 8:18 pm, with about two hours devoted to playing the recorded conversations.
After Kayode submitted a hard copy of his findings to the court clerk, the defence complained that the document should have been served earlier to enable it to study its contents.
The judge, however, ruled that the defence could obtain a certified true copy of the document admitted as Exhibit One for examination.
The court adjourned the case until November 30 and December 1, 2026, for continuation of the cross-examination, following agreement by the prosecution and defence.
