“El-Rufai set aside $600,000 to halt EFCC investigation”, witness tells court

A witness in the corruption trial of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has alleged that $500,000 and another $100,000 were set aside to bribe Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials and an intermediary to halt investigations into some companies, Tribune Online reports.

The witness, Segun Kayode, a senior DSS operative and digital forensics examiner, testified before Justice Darius Khobo at the Kaduna State High Court on Tuesday that his team conducted forensic analysis of call records and audio recordings involving El-Rufai and associates including Jimi Lawal, AU Mustafa, Ahmadu Sule and Sam Darwish, following a request from the ICPC.

Kayode said biometric voice analysis confirmed a recorded phone conversation between El-Rufai and his elder brother, Bashir, in which El-Rufai allegedly directed associates to obtain a template previously used to liquidate Olam for possible use in liquidating a company called Singularity, and discussed stopping an EFCC probe into the firm.

He further alleged the recording referenced plans to prevent EFCC scrutiny of IHS, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

El-Rufai’s counsel, Paul Erokoro, SAN, objected to the testimony, arguing the defence had not received adequate notice of the evidence, calling its introduction an “ambush.”

Prosecution counsel Ayodeji Adedipe dismissed the objection as unfounded, and the judge overruled it, allowing Kayode to continue testifying while directing the defence to obtain a certified true copy through the court registry.

The case, involving corruption and money-laundering charges filed by the ICPC, was adjourned to November 30 and December 1, 2026.