Court fixes El-Rufai trial for June
A Kaduna State High Court yesterday declined to grant bail to former Governor Nasir El-Rufai. It adjourned further proceedings in his trial to the first week in June. He is
- Ex-governor denied bail
A Kaduna State High Court yesterday declined to grant bail to former Governor Nasir El-Rufai. It adjourned further proceedings in his trial to the first week in June. He is to remain in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The presiding judge, Justice Darius Khobo, fixed the adjournment after listening to arguments from counsel, directing that the case would proceed on a day-to-day hearing at the next sitting.
El-Rufai is facing a nine-count charge bordering on alleged abuse of office, fraud and sundry financial infractions when he held the fort as governor.
He was arraigned by the ICPC.
The charges include claims that he induced the Kaduna State Government to release about N11 billion to an unregistered entity for a light rail project that was never executed.
He is also accused of approving and receiving about N289.8 million as severance allowance above the legally approved amount, and mismanaging over $1.08 million from a World Bank facility.
Other allegations involve the purported unlawful award of a N4.6 billion CCTV contract, land-related infractions, and attempts to compromise investigators.
The former governor denied all the allegations and alleged political persecution.
Reporters were barred from entering the courtroom during yesterday proceedings.
But, speaking with reporters shortly after the ruling, defence counsel, Ubong Akpan (SAN), faulted the court’s decision, particularly the denial of bail to his client.
He said: “The court, in its wisdom, decided that because Nasir El-Rufai is a former governor, therefore he is going to interfere with the investigation. Consequently, he is not entitled to bail in an allegation of financial impropriety.”
Acknowledging the court’s efforts, Akpan, however, expressed his disagreement with the decision.
He said: “We are grateful to His Lordship for the learning he has shown, but we respectfully disagree. That’s the end of it; there’s not much more to say.”
The senior advocate said the defence team would challenge the decision through the appropriate legal channels.
“The next step is to take the legal steps required to challenge it. The matter has been adjourned to the first week of June for day-to-day hearing to address all issues before the court.”
Akpan, who insisted that the charges against his client were politically motivated, said: “From the beginning, everything about Nasir El-Rufai’s travails has always been political. This is mainly the legal arm of it. We will deal with whatever comes.”
On the prosecution’s filings, he said: “Their papers do not have politics written on top of them. They are legal documents, and we will respond accordingly, as required by law.”
The defence counsel had earlier addressed a crowd of supporters of the former governor at the court premises, many of whom were visibly emotional, with some shedding tears.
He said: “All of you are acting as if somebody died. Nobody died. Sometimes things work against you in a conflict, but don’t be frightened.
“Stand up. We are going to take this battle on and we are going to win.”
Many of the former governor’s supporters were unhappy with the ruling.
