DSS Witness: How El-Rufai, Associates Allegedly Earmarked $600,000 to Influence EFCC Officials
A forensic investigator with the Department of State Services (DSS), Segun Kayode, has told a Kaduna State High Court that former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and some of his associates allegedly earmarked $600,000 to pay officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and intermediaries.
Kayode, the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial, made the allegation on Tuesday while testifying before Justice Darius Khobo at the Kaduna State High Court sitting in Kawo, Kaduna.
The witness alleged that $500,000 and an additional $100,000 were set aside for the proposed payments, claiming that forensic audio recordings captured conversations involving El-Rufai and some of his suspected associates.
According to Kayode, the conversations centred on alleged efforts to frustrate an EFCC investigation into a company identified as Singularity.
He told the court that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), another individual and Bashir El-Rufai were among those allegedly mentioned in the recordings.
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The investigator further alleged that the SAN and the other individual were instructed to meet one Ahmadu Sule to obtain a template previously used to liquidate another company, with a view to applying a similar process to Singularity.
Kayode also claimed that the discussions involved plans to liquidate the company in Nigeria and Mauritius, where it was reportedly under investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.
He added that the recordings contained conversations about preventing the EFCC from investigating a company he said was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The allegations formed part of the prosecution’s evidence against the former governor and have yet to be established by the court.
Proceedings lasted nearly eight hours, from 12:26 p.m. to 8:18 p.m., with approximately two hours devoted to playing the recorded conversations.
Following the submission of a hard copy of his findings to the court clerk, the defence objected that the document had not been served early enough to allow adequate time for examination.
The presiding judge ruled that the defence could obtain a certified true copy of the document admitted as Exhibit One for review.
The court subsequently adjourned the case until November 30 and December 1, 2026, for the continuation of cross-examination, following agreement between the prosecution and defence.
The allegations remain subject to judicial determination as proceedings continue.
By PRNigeria
