Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai is facing fresh allegations of an alleged $600,000 plan to influence officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other intermediaries to obstruct investigations involving companies linked to his case.
The allegations were presented by Segun Kayode, a forensic investigator with the State Security Service (SSS), who appeared as the first prosecution witness before the Kaduna State High Court sitting in Kawo on Tuesday.
Testifying before Justice Darius Khobo, Kayode said forensic audio recordings captured conversations allegedly involving El-Rufai and some of his associates. According to the investigator, the discussions centred on attempts to frustrate an EFCC investigation into a company identified as Singularity.
Follow PenTalk News
Get breaking news, important updates and the latest stories directly on your phone.
Kayode alleged that $500,000 and an additional $100,000 had been earmarked for payments connected to the purported arrangement.
He also mentioned Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) AU Mustapha, Jimi Lawal and Bashir El-Rufai as individuals allegedly referenced in the recordings.
The witness claimed that Mustapha and Lawal were instructed to contact a person identified as Ahmadu Sule to obtain a template previously used in the liquidation of another company.
According to his testimony, the template was intended to facilitate a similar process involving Singularity, including plans to liquidate the company in Nigeria and Mauritius.
Kayode further told the court that Singularity was reportedly under investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.
He also alleged that the recorded conversations included discussions about preventing the EFCC from investigating IHS, which he described as a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The claims formed part of the prosecution’s evidence in the ongoing proceedings. However, the allegations have yet to be established by a final court judgment.
The hearing, which lasted nearly eight hours, began at approximately 12:26 p.m. and ended at 8:18 p.m. About two hours were reportedly devoted to playing the audio recordings before the court.
Before Kayode began his testimony, the prosecution and defence disagreed over whether he should be permitted to testify.
El-Rufai’s lead counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN), objected to the investigator’s appearance, arguing that his name and a summary of his expected testimony were absent from the prosecution’s proof of evidence.
Erokoro maintained that the omission could undermine his client’s right to a fair hearing because the defence had not received adequate information to prepare for the evidence it would need to challenge.
Counsel to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), opposed the objection.
Adedipe told the court that Kayode had been summoned through a subpoena issued and signed on June 30, 2026. He argued that the absence of the investigator’s details from the proof of evidence did not automatically disqualify him from testifying.
The ICPC counsel also submitted that the defence could question the witness during cross-examination and cited judicial authorities in support of his position.
Erokoro, however, insisted that the prosecution was required to provide adequate notice. He relied on Section 210 of the applicable Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2017, arguing that the subpoena should have been served on the defence.
In his ruling, Justice Khobo acknowledged that the witness’s name and summary of evidence were missing from the proof of evidence. However, he noted that the court records confirmed that a subpoena had been issued.
The judge ruled that the omission did not automatically make the testimony inadmissible, provided the defence had the opportunity to cross-examine the witness. He subsequently overruled the objection and allowed Kayode to proceed.
A separate disagreement followed after the investigator submitted a hard copy of his findings to the court clerk. The defence complained that it had not received the document earlier and requested time to examine its contents before questioning the witness.
Justice Khobo directed the defence to obtain a certified true copy of the document admitted as Exhibit One for review.
The court subsequently adjourned the case until November 30 and December 1, 2026, for the continuation of cross-examination.
El-Rufai Appears In Court Under Tight Security
El-Rufai arrived at the court premises at about 11:50 a.m. on Tuesday under tight security. He was accompanied by Isa Ashiru, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Kaduna State.
His appearance followed an order by Justice Khobo directing the ICPC to produce him in court for the resumed proceedings.
The previous sitting had been adjourned after the former governor failed to appear. The court was reportedly informed that he had requested access to his personal physician to review medical test results.
The latest proceedings came days after the Court of Appeal in Kaduna dismissed El-Rufai’s appeal challenging the state high court’s refusal to grant him bail.
In its judgment delivered on October 9, the appellate court upheld the lower court’s decision, ruling that he had not established sufficient grounds for the court to intervene.
El-Rufai has remained in ICPC custody since February 18, 2026, over allegations of financial misconduct relating to his administration of Kaduna State between 2015 and 2023.
The Kaduna State House of Assembly had earlier petitioned the anti-corruption agency over the alleged diversion and mismanagement of more than ₦423 billion in public funds during his eight-year tenure.
The former governor is also involved in other legal proceedings concerning allegations of money laundering, abuse of office, fraud and related financial offences. He has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
In a related development, the Federal High Court in Abuja recently dismissed a separate suit filed by El-Rufai seeking to prevent the ICPC and other agencies from freezing his bank accounts or seizing his assets.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik dismissed the action on October 8, ruling that it amounted to an abuse of court process because similar proceedings had already been instituted elsewhere.
The decision was separate from the ongoing criminal proceedings in Kaduna.
The Kaduna case is expected to continue with the cross-examination of Kayode, as the defence examines the evidence presented by the prosecution and challenges the allegations against the former governor.
