Illustrative image of police officer with handcuffs, symbolising arrests in high-profile corruption cases A DSS witness told a Kaduna court that El-Rufai and associates earmarked $600,000 for EFCC officials. Photo: Stock image.
A forensic investigator with the Department of State Services, Segun Kayode, has told the Kaduna State High Court 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 and intermediaries.
Kayode, the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial, made the allegation while testifying before the 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, adding 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, with a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, another individual and Bashir El-Rufai among those allegedly mentioned.
He said 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, and to prevent the EFCC from probing a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The allegations form 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 recordings.
Earlier, El-Rufai's lead counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN), objected to the testimony, arguing that the witness's name and summary of evidence were absent from the prosecution's proof of evidence, a step he said undermined the defence's right to a fair hearing.
Counsel for the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), countered that Kayode was a subpoenaed witness and that the omission did not automatically render his testimony inadmissible. Justice Khobo agreed, allowing the defence to cross-examine him.
The court admitted a hard copy of the findings as Exhibit One and adjourned the case until November 30 and December 1, 2026, for continuation of cross-examination. El-Rufai arrived at the court premises at about 11:50 am, accompanied by the African Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Isah Ashiru.
Source: Channels Television
0 Comments