On Monday, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) changed the corruption charges against Nasir El-Rufai, who used to be the governor of Kaduna State, at the Kaduna State High Court.
The change meant that Amadu Suleiman, the second defendant and Managing Director of TMDK Terminal Limited, was no longer part of the case.
The ICPC said in a statement on Monday that its lawyer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, told the court that the original joint charge had been changed because Suleiman was still not there, supposedly because of health problems.
The court then approved the request, letting the prosecution move forward with the case against El-Rufai alone.
After the change, the former governor was charged with nine crimes under a number of laws, such as the Kaduna State Penal Code, the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, the Advance Fee Fraud Act, and the Kaduna State Public Procurement Law.
El-Rufai said he was not guilty of any of the charges.
After the plea was entered, the prosecution asked the court to set a trial date and make sure the defendant was there for the whole thing.
The defense lawyer, on the other hand, asked for bail on easy terms, saying that there was a pending application in court.
The court put off making a decision on the bail application until Tuesday, April 14, after hearing from both sides. El-Rufai will stay in ICPC custody until then.
The New Charges Against El-Rufai
The Advance Fee Fraud Act and the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, were used to bring charges against Mr. El-Rufai.
The ICPC said in the first count that Mr. El-Rufai used false pretenses to get the Kaduna State Government to pay ₦11 billion to Indokaduna MRTS JV Nigeria Limited, which the commission called an unregistered entity, for a light rail project that was never built.
The commission said that the act in question goes against the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
The second charge says that he used his position to give himself an unfair advantage.
The ICPC said in the third count that Mr. El-Rufai got ₦289.8 million as severance pay in January 2023, which is much more than the legal amount of about ₦20 million. The Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 says that he knew or should have known that the extra payment was part of the money made from illegal activity.
The fourth count says that between September 2017 and March 2023, he took control of $320,800 that Joel Adoga paid in installments into his Guaranty Trust Bank domiciliary account. The commission said that this money was the result of corruption.
The ICPC said in the fifth count that Mr. El-Rufai got $155,800 from Peter Akagu Jones in May 2022 into the same account. Jones is said to be on the run, and the money came from illegal activity.
The sixth count says that he got $305,300 from Ajayi Ayodele in May 2022 under similar circumstances.
The ICPC said in the seventh and eighth counts that he got $5,000 from different people in April and June 2016, which they said were the result of illegal activity.
After the charge was changed, the commission also said that the former governor had received other amounts in foreign currency and hid where they came from.
The ICPC charged El-Rufai with ten counts of fraud, converting public property, and money laundering, among other things. He said he was not guilty.
After a number of court appearances in both state and federal courts, the charge has been changed.
