ICPC calls in El-Rufai’s ally for questioning over alleged N11bn fake project

A former Special Adviser to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has been summoned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Mr. Jimi Lawal was invited over an alleged fraudulent Light Rail Project valued at N11 billion.

It has been reported that there was no contract file for the implementation of the purported light rail, yet it was allegedly paid for in full.

Although Lawal was scheduled to appear before an ICPC team of investigators yesterday, he failed to show up and was not represented.

The anti-graft agency has requested the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to place the former adviser on a watchlist at airports, seaports, and land borders.

According to the commission, Lawal is being investigated in connection with “loans (foreign and domestic) obtained without following due process.”

The ICPC also discovered that Lawal’s account at a major bank revealed a total sum of N144 million from four private companies.

A copy of the ICPC’s letter to the DSS and NIS reads: “The above-mentioned person (Lawal Shakiru Olujimi Adebisi), who hails from Ogun State and speaks Yoruba and English fluently, is being investigated for the offence of criminal conspiracy.

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“Credible information at the commission’s disposal suggests that the suspect, who is under investigation, is likely to flee the country to evade prosecution.

“You are therefore kindly requested to place him on the watchlist and arrest him if seen at any of the airports, seaports, or land borders, and inform this commission accordingly.”

Twenty top officials and the Managing Director of a company have also been invited by the ICPC regarding $350 million loans meant for the rehabilitation of schools and strategic infrastructure.

The affected invitees will undergo interrogation from August 13 to August 16. They include:

– Mariam Sani Dangaji, Project Coordinator, Kaduna State Transportation Programme
– Nicolas Hassan Samuel, Project Accountant, Kaduna State Transportation Programme
– Sani Nalado, Project Accountant, AGILE
– Abdulhadi Muhammed Suleiman, Project Coordinator, Kaduna State Reaching Out-of-School Children (ROOSC)
– Nasiru Dahiru, Project Accountant, ROOSC
– Yahaya Aminu, Project Coordinator, Agro Processing Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS)
– Nasiru Dahiru, Project Accountant, APPEALS
– Abbas Sani, Project Coordinator, Kaduna State Special Agro Processing Zones (SAPZ)
– D. Mark Anthony Chunbi, SAPZ Accountant
– Shittu Salisu, Project Coordinator, Kaduna State Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (LPRES)
– F. Ahmed Suleiman, LPRES Accountant
– Zubairu Abubakar, Project Coordinator, Kaduna State Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP)
– Mercy Emanuel Toro, RAAMP Project Accountant
– Esau Ambinjah, Project Coordinator, Kaduna State Sustainable Urban and Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Project (SURWASH)
– Tukur Umar Ibrahim, SURWASH Project Accountant
– Usman Garba, Project Coordinator, Kaduna State Immunisation Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Promoting Service (IMPACT)
– Idriss Haliru Makama, IMPACT Project Accountant
– Dr. Zainab Kwaru Muhammad, Project Coordinator, Kaduna State Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN)
– Dr. Habibu Muhammad Lawan, ANRiN Accountant
– Jibrin Dahiru Rufai, Project Coordinator, Kaduna State Agro-climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape (ACReSAL)
– Ibrahim Tukur Umar, ACReSAL Accountant
– Managing Director, Chamberlayne Limited

An ICPC source said: “We have received numerous petitions concerning the administration of El-Rufai. All petitions were fully endorsed to prove their validity. Some petitions were even sent through law firms.

“We have conducted a preliminary investigation, and it has become necessary to interrogate these individuals based on our findings.”

This development is seen as a new twist in the ongoing probe of El-Rufai’s administration in Kaduna State.

In June, an ad-hoc committee of the Kaduna House of Assembly allegedly uncovered that about N423,115,028,072.88 was siphoned from the state government’s coffers from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023.

The committee also allegedly identified cumulative withdrawals of $1.4 million from the Kaduna State Economic Transformation Account.

The committee requested eight individuals and companies to refund N19,239,511,099.76.

It also directed 15 contractors to refund N36,351,126,811.65 for “work either not done, overpayment, or diversion.”

The panel stated that although the value of contracts awarded from 1999 to 2023 by El-Rufai’s administration was N510,407,166,975.39, only N198,921,880,169.04 had been paid to contractors.

El-Rufai has denied all allegations and claimed that the House of Assembly did not give him a fair hearing. He has challenged the report in court.

Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at Neptune Prime.

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