The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, alongside his former aide, Jimi Lawal, and five companies over allegations of corruption, money laundering and related offences linked to an N8.68 billion CCTV surveillance contract.
The defendants were brought before Justice Hauwa’u Buhari of the Federal High Court in Kaduna on an 11-count amended charge filed by the anti-graft agency.
Others named in the charge are Singularity Network Security Limited, Solar Life Nigeria Limited, Knowledge Investment Nigeria Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Limited and Noble Coast Resources Limited.
The ICPC also listed Bashir El-Rufai, the former governor’s elder brother, in one of the counts, describing him as being at large.
According to the commission, El-Rufai unlawfully approved the award of a contract for the procurement, design and installation of a Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance system across Kaduna metropolis.
The contract, valued at N8.68 billion, was awarded to Singularity Network Security Limited, a company the ICPC alleges lacked the required experience and qualifications for the project.
The commission further accused the defendants of receiving and taking possession of more than N2 billion through a series of transactions involving the companies between 2017 and 2022.
When the charges were read in court, El-Rufai and Lawal pleaded not guilty.
The court adjourned the matter until July 1, 2026, for a ruling on their bail applications.
El-Rufai governed Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023, while Lawal served as his special adviser during his first term and later as a senior adviser and member of the Kaduna Economic Development Council between 2019 and 2023.
The latest arraignment adds to the legal troubles facing the former governor. He is currently facing separate prosecutions by both the ICPC and the Department of State Services (DSS).
The ICPC has already filed other corruption and money laundering cases against him at the Federal High Court and the Kaduna State High Court.
Meanwhile, the DSS is prosecuting El-Rufai on five counts over allegations that he illegally intercepted telephone conversations linked to Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser.
In the various cases, courts have issued differing rulings on his bail applications. While the Federal High Court in Kaduna granted him bail in the sum of N200 million, a Kaduna State High Court declined his request for bail.
A Federal High Court in Abuja later granted him bail in a separate case, setting the amount at N100 million with strict conditions attached.
Those conditions, including the requirement that a surety own property in Abuja’s Maitama or Asokoro districts, have drawn criticism from some observers, who argue that they amount to a constructive denial of bail.
