El-Rufai, Aides Set Aside $600,000 To Pay EFCC Officials – DSS Witness

A forensic investigator with the Department of State Services (DSS), Segun Kayode, on Tuesday, told a Kaduna State High Court that a former Governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, and some of his associates allegedly set aside $600,000 to pay officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and some middlemen.

Naija News reports that Kayode, who appeared on Tuesday as the first prosecution witness, testified before Justice Darius Khobo at the court’s Kawo division in Kaduna.

Kayode said the money was split into $500,000 and $100,000, and that forensic audio recordings captured conversations between the former governor and some of his alleged associates.

According to the witness, the recordings focused on alleged efforts to scuttle an EFCC investigation into a firm identified as Singularity.

He listed a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), AU Mustapha; Jimi Lawal; and Bashir El-Rufai among the people allegedly mentioned in the recordings.

Kayode said Mustapha and Lawal were allegedly instructed to meet Ahmadu Sule to get a template previously used to wind up another company, so they could apply the same process to Singularity.

He added that the discussions also covered plans to liquidate the company in both Nigeria and Mauritius, where the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit was said to be scrutinising it.

The investigator further claimed that the recordings captured talks on how to stop the EFCC from probing IHS, a company he described as listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The allegations formed part of the evidence the prosecution tendered against the former governor.

The sitting lasted almost eight hours, beginning at 12:26 pm and ending at 8:18 pm. About two hours of that time was spent playing the audio recordings in open court.

Before Kayode began his testimony, El-Rufai’s lead counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN), objected, arguing that the witness’s name and a summary of his evidence did not appear in the prosecution’s proof of evidence.

Erokoro said the omission violated his client’s right to a fair hearing, stressing that the defence was entitled to know in advance the evidence it would have to answer.

Responding, counsel to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Ayodeji Adedipe (SAN), argued that Kayode appeared on subpoena and that the omission, on its own, did not make his evidence inadmissible.

Adedipe told the court that the court issued and signed the subpoena on June 30, 2026, and that the defence would still have the chance to cross-examine the witness. He cited several judicial authorities to back his position.

Replying on points of law, Erokoro insisted that the real issue was not whether the witness could testify, but whether the defence had been given sufficient notice to prepare for his evidence.

Relying on Section 210 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2017, he argued that the prosecution ought to have served the subpoena on the defence.

In his ruling, Justice Khobo agreed that the witness’s name and summary of evidence were missing from the proof of evidence, but noted that the court’s records showed that Kayode had been duly subpoenaed.

The judge held that the omission did not automatically render the testimony inadmissible, as long as the defence was given the opportunity to cross-examine the witness.

He therefore overruled the objection and ordered Kayode to proceed with his evidence.

When the witness later handed the court clerk a hard copy of his findings, the defence protested that the document should have been served earlier to allow its lawyers to study it.

Justice Khobo, however, ruled that the defence could apply for a certified true copy of the document, which the court admitted as Exhibit One.

With the consent of both the prosecution and the defence, the court adjourned the matter to November 30 and December 1, 2026, to continue cross-examination.

Naija News reports that El-Rufai arrived at the court premises at about 11:50 am, shortly before the noon sitting, under tight security.

He came with the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Isa Ashiru.