Court orders temporary forfeiture of ₦1.37bn diverted under El-Rufai
A Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has ordered the temporary forfeiture of ₦1.37 billion allegedly diverted into a private account under the administration of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
The ruling, delivered by Judge H. Buhari, followed an ex parte application filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on February 14, 2025.
The commission sought the order under various anti-corruption laws, including the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000, the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2000, and the Proceeds of Crime (Recovery and Management) Act 2022.
The ICPC alleged that the funds were diverted into a private account belonging to INDO KADUNA MARTS JV NIG. LTD and were later recovered into the commission’s recovery account domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The judge also directed that a public notice be published in two national newspapers, inviting any individual or entities with legitimate claims to the funds to come forward and show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The case has been adjourned to April 8, 2025, for a hearing on the final forfeiture.
Earlier, the commission approached a Federal High Court in Kaduna, seeking an interim forfeiture order on the funds, which it said was a proceed from a fraudulent light rail project that the administration failed to execute.
The ICPC had recovered the money into the commission’s recovery account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria in the course of an ongoing investigation into the activities of the officials of the state government during the period.
The exparte motion filed by the commission before the court seeks the court’s nod for the commission to repatriate the funds to the Kaduna State Government.
The ICPC noted that the alleged diversion had deprived the people of Kaduna State of the benefits of the rail transportation system which the money was meant for.
This alleged discovery contradicts El-Rufai’s claim that not a dime was stolen under his administration. The former governor had also boasted recently when he appeared on Arise Television for an interview that he led a corruption-free government.
According to documents filed by the ICPC before the court, the Kaduna State Government, under El-Rufai, entered into a joint venture agreement in October 2016 with Indo Kaduna MRTS JV Nig. Ltd to develop a light rail transport system in the state.
At the time the contract was awarded, the company was not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Despite this, the state government proceeded to transfer over ₦11 billion into the company’s account at Sterling Bank through multiple transactions between December 23, 2016, and January 17, 2017.
The ICIR reports that awarding a contract to an unregistered company is a serious violation of Nigerian law.
Section 814 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 mandates the registration of business names with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
Operating a business without such registration is considered an offence under Section 821 of the same Act. Therefore, making payment into the account of such a company not registered by the CAC contravenes these provisions.
The Kaduna light rail project was initially presented as a major infrastructure initiative designed to modernise the state’s transport system and ease movement of residents.
However, the project was abandoned, despite the billions of naira allocated to it.
The legal battle over the ₦1.37 billion comes amid broader scrutiny of Kaduna State’s finances. The state is grappling with allegations of mismanagement under the former governor, particularly concerning massive debts allegedly incurred by his administration.
El-Rufai was accused by his successor, Uba Sani, of leaving Kaduna in a dire financial state with billions in liabilities.
Sani said he could not pay salaries and further lamented that El-Rufai left a “huge debt burden of $587m, ₦85bn, and 115 contractual liabilities” for his government.
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