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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned former Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, his former Senior Special Adviser and Counsellor Jimi Adebisi Lawal, and five others on an 11-count amended charge bordering on alleged corruption, money laundering and related offences linked to an N8.68 billion CCTV surveillance contract.
The defendants were arraigned before Justice Hauwa’u Buhari of the Federal High Court, Kaduna, in Charge No. FHC/KD/93C/2026.
Also listed as defendants in the amended charge are Singularity Network Security Limited, Solar Life Nigeria Limited, Knowledge Investment Nigeria Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Limited and Noble Coast Resources Limited. Bashir El-Rufai, described as an elder brother of the former governor, was mentioned in one of the counts and is said to be at large.
According to the ICPC, El-Rufai, while serving as governor, allegedly approved the award of a contract for the procurement, survey planning, final design and installation of a Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance system in the Kaduna metropolis at a reviewed cost of N8.68 billion to Singularity Network Security Limited, a company that the commission claims lacked the required experience and qualifications.
The anti-corruption agency further alleged that the contract award violated public procurement laws and that proceeds arising from the transaction were subsequently transferred through several companies and individuals.
In the amended charge, the commission accused the defendants of receiving, possessing and moving funds reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity, involving sums running into billions of naira between 2017 and 2022.
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One of the charges alleged that El-Rufai aided an act of corruption by approving the CCTV contract despite knowing that the beneficiary company did not possess the requisite experience and that the award contravened procurement regulations.
The ICPC also claimed that more than N2 billion, suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activity, was received through transactions involving Singularity Network Security Limited, Solar Life Nigeria Limited, Knowledge Investment Nigeria Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Limited and Noble Coast Resources Limited.
El-Rufai and Lawal pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read in court.
Following their pleas, the court adjourned proceedings until July 1, 2026, for a ruling on their bail applications.
The offences are alleged to contravene provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
