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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
For many residents of Kaduna, the name Rigasa often evokes images of congestion, gang violence, poverty and urban neglect.
Yet, the densely populated settlement on the western edge of Kaduna metropolis hosts some of the most expensive private buildings in the state, a contradiction that has once again drawn public attention following the arrest of the convicted former minister of power, Saleh Mamman, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Mamman, who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari for about two years, was recently sentenced to 75 years imprisonment for the laundering of N33.8 billion linked to the Mambilla Power Project fraud.
On May 19, 2026, the chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, told journalists that the anti-graft agency had successfully arrested the former minister in Kaduna. According to him, the ex-minister was arrested at Rigasa about 3:30am on May 19, alongside two individuals allegedly shielding him from security operatives.
“Ladies and gentlemen, you will recall that sometime in January 2025, we filed charges against the ex-minister of power for allegedly converting over N33 billion – money that was set aside for the Mambilla and Zungeru power projects.
“About 14 to 15 months down the line, specifically on the 7th of this month, we secured convictions on all 12 counts. Because the defendant was not present, the issue of sentencing was shifted. And on the 13th of this month, he was sentenced in absentia.
“For us, getting the convict to serve his jail terms is extremely important in view of the seriousness with which we are tackling corrupt practices. It is this resolve that made us deploy intelligence to track and arrest the convict. We will process his transmission to the correctional centre accordingly,” Olukoyede said.
Describing the arrest of the former power minister as “a testament to the commitment of the Federal Government of Nigeria to the fight against corruption in Nigeria,” the EFCC boss added: “It is to assure Nigerians that anyone who has taken government or national resources will not go unpunished and the eagle eye of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will always catch up with you wherever you are hiding.”
Mamman’s reported arrest in Rigasa has since triggered renewed conversations across Kaduna: why would a former minister accused of handling billions of naira choose to hide or even build a mansion in one of the state capital’s roughest communities, instead of elite neighbourhoods like Ungwan Rimi GRA, Malali, Barnawa GRA?
However, unofficial sources hinted that the convicted ex-power minister was initially hiding in one of the highbrow areas in the city centre, but relocated to Rigasa.
“He was somewhere in a high-class rated area in town before moving into this area. From what we observed, he had barely stayed 24 hours here before he was arrested by the EFCC around 3am last Tuesday,” one of the sources said.
For many who know Rigasa closely, the answer lies in the complicated history and evolution of the community itself.
Rigasa is one of the largest and most populated settlements in Kaduna State, stretching across clusters such as Danmani, Nariya, Makera, Mashi, Hayin Malam Bello, Kwate and Sabon Gari Rigasa.
Despite its proximity to the Kaduna city centre and its strategic importance as home to the Abuja-Kaduna railway terminal, the community has for decades existed in sharp contrast to the upscale city centre.
Findings revealed that, with about two million high, middle class and poor residents, Rigasa, now overwhelmingly populated by Muslims, was originally inhabited largely by indigenous Gbagyi families, many of whom were Christians.
Old residents say the demographic shift intensified after the Zangon Kataf ethno-religious crisis of the 1990s, which forced many indigenous families to sell their lands and houses and relocate further south, while Hausa settlers moved into the area in large numbers.
Over time, Rigasa expanded rapidly without corresponding urban planning, leaving behind poor roads, overstretched healthcare services and inadequate public infrastructure.
Yet, the community continued to attract migrants, traders, transport workers, politicians and businessmen from far northern states because of its nature of anonymity within population density.
Unlike Kaduna’s elite neighbourhoods where residents know one another and unusual movements quickly attract attention, Rigasa offers a different kind of environment: crowded, constantly busy and socially fluid.
A resident and community influencer, Yushau Abubakar, said people in the area often wonder about the scale of wealth allegedly invested in some properties.
“Several times, we ask ourselves why somebody would spend that kind of money to build such a massive house in this place,” he said.
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For some observers, Rigasa’s location also makes it strategically attractive.
The community connects several entry and exit routes into Kaduna and links directly to transport corridors extending towards Abuja and the shortest road from Kaduna to southwestern Nigeria, except in recent times when bandits have infested the road from Birnin Gwari to Mokwa in Niger State.
The railway station itself transformed the area into a national transit hub, bringing daily human traffic that further deepened its culture of movement and invisibility.
Ironically, despite its poor reputation, many residents insist Rigasa today is far safer than it used to be.
Abubakar explained that years of gang clashes and youth violence have reduced significantly due to community engagement and increased security presence.
He said: “The good side of Rigasa today is peace. The community is far more peaceful now.
“Even when there are issues involving these boys, it is mostly between rival gangs and no longer attacks on innocent residents the way it used to happen before.”
Security presence in the community has also increased over the years. From having just a single police post decades ago, Rigasa now hosts about four police formations, in addition to security architecture attached to the railway corridor and other federal facilities around the area.
Residents say this gradual improvement partly explains why more influential people are quietly investing in property within the community despite its old stigma.
To Hajiya Hafsat Inuwa, many believe Rigasa remains one of Kaduna’s most neglected urban settlements relative to its population and economic contribution.
“While it hosts the major Kaduna-Abuja train station and institutions like the Federal School of Forestry and a Federal Road Safety Corps outpost, the area still lacks major federal infrastructure expected of a community of its size,” she said.
A 2022 community commentary described Rigasa as politically and infrastructurally abandoned despite being one of the most economically active settlements in Kaduna State.
Yet, perhaps that contradiction is precisely what makes Rigasa attractive to powerful individuals seeking privacy.
In elite areas like Ungwan Rimi or Malali, wealth stands out and attracts scrutiny.
In Rigasa, however, wealth can disappear into the chaos of a vast working-class settlement where survival, commerce and daily movement dominate public attention, except for a few close observers like Yushau.
For decades, Rigasa was known nationally for violence, gang activity and urban poverty. Today, it is increasingly becoming something more complicated: a densely populated urban frontier where poverty and hidden wealth coexist side by side.
After Saleh Mamman’s dramatic downfall and his subsequent arrest by the antigraft agency that prosecuted him, Rigasa has again found itself at the centre of a national conversation.
Secretary to the Rigasa District Head, Ismail Muhammed, said he was unaware of any developmental contributions made by Saleh.
“People have been calling me about his arrest. Honestly, I didn’t even know someone like that had property here in Rigasa.
“I served in the Rigasa Community Forum and Associations for many years before becoming the secretary to the District Head, and I’m not aware of anything he did for the community,” he said.
He added that a former minister of agriculture and environment, Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, started an erosion control project in the area but could not complete it.
He further stated that former minister of communications and digital economy, Isa Ali Pantami, also built a digital centre in the area.
Ibrahim Rigasa echoed Ismail’s position, saying: “Of a truth, we don’t know him in Rigasa.
“I’m not even sure the house where he was arrested belongs to him. Otherwise, as a community person, we would have had an encounter with him,” he said.
Hassan Abubakar, a youth leader in Rigasa, added: “We never heard of him until the news of his arrest broke out.
“In fact, we are beginning to doubt whether the arrest actually took place in Rigasa because we have contacted representatives across the community and none of them is aware of such an operation.”
