The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, his former Senior Special Adviser and Counsellor, Jimi Lawal, and five others on an amended 11-count charge bordering on alleged corruption, money laundering and related offences.
The defendants were arraigned before trial judge Hauwa’u Buhari of the Federal High Court in Kaduna on 111 amended charges filed by the anti-corruption agency.
The ICPC filed the charges in April against El-Rufai, who is facing prosecution the agency in other corruption cases.
According to a statement on Thursday by the ICPC’s Head of Media and Public Communications, John Odey, El-Rufai is the first defendant in the case marked FHC/KD/93C/2026.
Also named as defendants are Lawal, Singularity Network Security Limited, Solar Life Nigeria Limited, Knowledge Investment Nigeria Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Limited and Noble Coast Resources Limited.
The commission stated that Bashir El-Rufai, identified in the charge as an elder brother of the former governor, was mentioned in one of the counts and is currently at large.
According to the amended charges, El-Rufai, while serving as governor of Kaduna State, allegedly approved the award of a contract for the procurement, survey planning, final design and installation of a Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance system in Kaduna metropolis at a reviewed cost of N8.68 billion.
The commission alleged that the contract was awarded to Singularity Network Security Limited, a company it claimed lacked the requisite experience and qualifications for the project, in violation of public procurement laws.
