EFCC Holds El-Rufai Overnight Over ₦423bn Kaduna Corruption Allegations

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai

EFCC Holds El-Rufai Overnight Over ₦423bn Kaduna Corruption Allegations

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, spent Monday night in detention at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission headquarters in Abuja after hours of interrogation over allegations linked to a multi-billion-naira corruption investigation involving his administration.

El-Rufai arrived at the EFCC headquarters around 10 a.m. on Monday after honouring an invitation and was questioned throughout the day over claims contained in a **2024 report of the Kaduna State House of Assembly. The report accused his government of financial mismanagement, abuse of office, irregular contract awards, and improper loan utilisation between 2015 and 2023. By late Monday night, sources confirmed that he remained in custody.

A senior EFCC official said investigators had been working on the case for nearly a year, explaining that invitations to high-profile suspects are usually issued only after preliminary findings reach an advanced stage. EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale confirmed that El-Rufai honoured the invitation but declined to comment on the substance of the interrogation or disclose the next steps in the investigation.

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The EFCC probe is anchored on findings by an ad hoc committee of the Kaduna State House of Assembly mandated to review the state’s finances, loans, and contract executions during El-Rufai’s tenure. The committee alleged that several loans were not applied to their stated purposes, claiming that about ₦423 billion was misapplied or unaccounted for, leaving Kaduna State with heavy financial liabilities.

Lawmakers subsequently recommended the prosecution of El-Rufai and senior officials of his administration for alleged money laundering, contract irregularities, and reckless borrowing. The report also cited disputed payments exceeding ₦155 million, the alleged diversion of ₦1.37 billion meant for a light rail project, and the purported laundering of ₦64.8 million by senior aides.

El-Rufai has consistently denied wrongdoing, describing the legislative report as politically motivated and insisting that all loans were lawfully obtained and deployed to projects in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and security across Kaduna State.

In a parallel development, the Federal Government filed criminal charges against El-Rufai at the Federal High Court in Abuja, accusing him of unlawfully intercepting communications linked to the **National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

The three-count charge, filed under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act and the Nigerian Communications Act, alleges that El-Rufai admitted during a **February 13 interview on Arise TV that he and associates listened to phone calls connected to the NSA. Prosecutors argue that the alleged actions amount to illegal interception and failure to report a cybercrime offence, which they say could pose national security risks. No arraignment date has been fixed.

Meanwhile, security sources disclosed that the Department of State Services has reopened investigations into the 2019 disappearance of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata, a lecturer and government critic who went missing in Kaduna.

According to the sources, El-Rufai’s international passport was seized at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as part of ongoing investigations. Officials said the probe may also extend to social media activities by individuals connected to the case.

El-Rufai has repeatedly denied any involvement in Dadiyata’s disappearance, maintaining that he neither knew the activist personally nor ordered or sanctioned any action against him, and has called for an independent investigation to establish the truth.