El-Rufai spends second consecutive day in EFCC custody

IMMEDIATE past governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, on Tuesday spent his second consecutive day in the custody of the Economicand Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), where he is being questioned on allegations of corruption.

The former governor, a chieftain of African Democratic Alliance (ADC), was detained on Monday by the anti-corruption commission after he honoured an invitation sent to him to come and give explanations on allegations of corruption to the tune of N423 billion.

A reliable EFCC disclosed that el-Rufai was still with EFCC as of 7 pm and was being quizzed by the investigative team set up by the commission to handle his case.

“He is still with us as of this evening (7:05 pm) and it is very unlikely that he will go home tonight,” the source told Nigerian Tribune.

According to the source, who preferred to remain anonymous, EFCC operatives in charge of el-Rufai’s case have been busy interrogating the former governor since his arrival at the commission’s headquarters at Jabi, Abuja, on Monday.

Asked if the current investigation is not politically motivated, the source declared that el-Rufai’s investigation had nothing to do with politics, adding that EFCC remained apolitical.

He disclosed that the anti-graft agency had been investigating el-Rufai’s eight-year tenure in Kaduna State for over a year now, adding that the invitation sent to the former governor was part of investigation activities.

“EFCC remains apolitical.

That is a fact. We are not investigating him (el-Rufai) because he belongs to the opposition. This is very far from the truth.

“We received a petition from the Kaduna State House of Assembly, alleging some financial malfeasance against the former governor to the tune of N423 billion.

“The House had in 2024 set up an ad hoc committee to probe finances, loans obtained by the administration of the former governor and contracts awarded between 2015 and 2023 when el-Rufai was on the saddle as governor of the state.

“The ad hoc committee came up with a report that el-Rufai administration misappropriated the loans it obtained and violated due process in awarding contracts. It then recommended investigation and prosecution of the former governor and some members of his cabinet,” the source said.

The former governor has consistently claimed innocence of the allegations by the House of Assembly and expressed readiness to defend his eight-year tenure.