Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was detained on Monday night at the Abuja headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after hours of interrogation over an alleged ₦432 billion corruption probe.
Multiple senior sources within the anti-graft agency confirmed that El-Rufai, who arrived at the commission’s Jabi office around 10:00 a.m. in response to an invitation, was grilled over financial transactions linked to a 2024 report by the Kaduna State House of Assembly.
“He is still in our custody and won’t be released today,” a top EFCC official said late Monday, indicating that investigators had moved beyond preliminary inquiries.
The commission’s spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed that the former governor honoured the invitation but declined to provide further details.
The interrogation stems from findings by an ad hoc committee of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, which alleged that loans obtained between 2015 and 2023 by El-Rufai’s administration were misapplied, contracts were awarded without due process, and public funds were diverted.
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The committee, chaired by Henry Zacharia, accused the former governor’s administration of siphoning approximately ₦423 billion and plunging the state into unsustainable debt.
The report also cited disputed payments exceeding ₦155 million, alleged diversion of ₦1.37 billion earmarked for a light rail project, and the purported laundering of ₦64.8 million by senior aides.
The assembly subsequently petitioned both the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC).
El-Rufai has repeatedly dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, insisting that all loans were lawfully appropriated and utilised for infrastructure, education, healthcare, and security interventions.
