The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has filed fresh criminal charges against former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and seven others, accusing them of fraud and money laundering in connection with a ₦10.8 billion CCTV security project.
Court documents filed on April 17 at the Federal High Court in Kaduna revealed that the anti-graft agency preferred 11 counts against the defendants under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The development was disclosed by Alhaji Tijjani Ramalan, a former Kaduna State Commissioner for Information and Chairman of Liberty Television, in a post on his Facebook page. Ramalan stated that El-Rufai and the co-accused would soon be arraigned on the new charges.
According to the ICPC, El-Rufai allegedly approved the award of an ₦8.68 billion contract for the CCTV project in December 2015 to a company said to lack the required technical competence.
The commission also alleged that large sums of money were received and transferred between 2017 and 2022 through individuals and companies linked to the project, including Singularity Network Security Limited and other related firms.
Other defendants in the case include a former Kaduna State government official, Jimi Lawal, senior executives of IHS Towers, and five companies. One of El-Rufai’s sons, Bashir El-Rufai, was mentioned in the allegations but was not listed as a defendant.
This latest charge brings to three the number of separate cases filed by the ICPC against the former governor since March. El-Rufai is already facing other corruption-related prosecutions involving the Kaduna light rail project and controversial severance payments to former government officials.
El-Rufai has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his previous court appearances.
Apart from the ICPC, other federal agencies including the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are also investigating or prosecuting the former governor over separate allegations.
The case is expected to come up for mention at the Federal High Court in Kaduna in the coming weeks.
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