- Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged N432bn corruption probe
- The Commission says the investigation has lasted about one year before invitation and interrogation
- Meanwhile, the Former governor denies the allegations, describing the probe as politically motivated
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was on Monday night detained at the Abuja headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over an alleged N432 billion corruption probe.
Sources within the anti-graft agency confirmed to The PUNCH that El-Rufai arrived at the commission’s Jabi office around 10am in response to an invitation and was interrogated for several hours over allegations linked to the 2024 report of the Kaduna State House of Assembly.
“The commission has been investigating him for about a year now. As a commission, we don’t just rush to invite suspects. Persons accused are always the last; that is after we might have done our investigation to an advanced stage.
“We are investigating him on the allegations against him by the Kaduna State Assembly,” a senior EFCC source said.
When asked late Monday night whether the former governor would be released, the source replied, “He is still in our custody and wouldn’t be released today (Monday).”
The EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed that El-Rufai honoured the commission’s invitation but declined to provide further details on the interrogation.
The probe stems from findings presented last year by an ad hoc committee of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, which investigated loans, contracts and financial transactions carried out between 2015 and 2023 under El-Rufai’s administration.
Presenting the report during plenary, committee chairman Henry Zacharia alleged that most of the loans obtained during the eight-year tenure were not used for their stated purposes.
While receiving the report, the Speaker of the House, Yusuf Dahiru Leman, alleged that about N423bn was siphoned under the El-Rufai administration, leaving the state with heavy liabilities and a rising debt burden.
The committee recommended the investigation and prosecution of the former governor and some members of his cabinet over alleged abuse of office, contract irregularities, diversion of public funds, money laundering and reckless borrowing. The Assembly subsequently endorsed a petition to the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies.
El-Rufai has repeatedly denied the allegations, describing the probe as politically motivated and maintaining that all loans secured during his tenure were properly appropriated and deployed to infrastructural, educational, healthcare and security projects.
Monday’s detention signals that the EFCC has moved beyond preliminary review to active interrogation as investigations into the alleged N432bn fraud intensify.