Kaduna Assembly Recommends El-Rufai’s Indictment for Abuse of Office, Money Laundering

Kaduna State House of Assembly has recommended that Nasir El-Rufai, the state’s immediate past governor, be prosecuted over allegations of abuse of office and money laundering.

This was disclosed following the investigation of the ad hoc committee the House set up and as led by Henry Zacharia.

The report, submitted by Zecharia on Wednesday, revealed that a significant portion of the loans acquired during El-Rufai’s tenure were misused, with many not being used for their intended purposes.

Yusuf Liman, Speaker of the Kaduna House of Assembly, while receiving the report, stated that El-Rufai’s government took a total of N423 billion, leaving the state with massive debt.

Furthermore, it was found that due process was not followed in some instances when securing these loans.

To recall, West Africa Weekly reported in March how the current governor of Kaduna, Uba Sani, highlighted the debt El-Rufai left for the State government to manage.

In the report, Governor Sani revealed the staggering financial burden he inherited from El-Rufai, a massive debt of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 Contractual Liabilities.

However, in another extensive report, El-Rufai was exposed for using state funds in hundreds of millions in donations to fund the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom while also gaining notoriety for the persecution of journalists and human rights activities.

Meanwhile, with the recent disclosure of prosecution as recommended by the Kaduna Assembly, the committee has since recommended the investigation and trial of El-Rufai and some other indicted members of his cabinet by security and anti-corruption agencies (EFCC) for abuse of office through the award of contracts without due process, diversion of public funds, and money laundering.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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