Baring any unforeseen circumstances, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission(ICPC) will this morning, today (Friday) arraign three former appointees of the ex-Governor of Kaduna State, Nasiru El-Rufai, in a fresh N64m money laundering case.
The former aides are the ex-Senior Special Adviser/Counsellor to the governor, Jimi Adebisi Lawal, the former Accountant General of Kaduna State, Umar Waziri, and the former Finance Commissioner, Yusuf Inuwa.
The ICPC spokesman, Demola Bakare, in a statement on Thursday, said the three ex-public officials have been scheduled and readied for arraignment before the Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna, Kaduna State.
Also to be arraigned alongside Lawal, Waziri and Inuwa is
a firm, Solar Life Nigeria Limited.
According to the ICPC, the firm’s bank account warehoused the funds allegedly diverted by the accused persons.
The spokesman said, “In the suit filed at the Federal High Court, Kaduna Judicial division, the ICPC is accusing Mr. Lawal of conniving with the two other accused persons to divert the total sum N64,800,562 in three tranches of N10,000,000,00, N47,840,000.00 and N7,320,562.00 to the bank account of Solar Life Nigeria limited where Mr. Lawal is believed to be the sole signatory.
“The four accused persons are expected to appear in court on Friday, 17th of January, 2025 to take their plea.”
The ICPC, had last week also charged El-Rufai’s former Chief of Staff and Commissioner of Finance in Kaduna State, Alhaji Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu, with two counts of money laundering.
The anti-graft agency accused Sa’idu of money laundering, involving N155m, in the charges filed before the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
The ICPC alleged that he paid the money illegally to one Ibrahim Muktar, a public officer in the state’s Ministry of Finance.
The Kaduna State House of Assembly had last year indicted the El-Rufai’s administration of theft to the tune of N423bn, but the ex-governor vehemently debunked it.
