Court orders El-Rufai’s remand after arraignment on money laundering charges

The Federal High Court in Kaduna, Kaduna State, has remanded former Governor Nasir El-Rufai in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), following arraignment on money laundering charges

Penpushing reports that the trial judge, Justice Ridwan Aikawa, gave the order on Tuesday, while the arraignment took place amid heavy security within and around the court premises, as journalists were blocked from accessing the courts during proceedings.

 The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which has already detained El-Rufai for over a month, arraigned him alongside Joel Adoga, whose name appeared as a co-defendant in only one of the 10 counts.

Penpushing further reports that El-Rufai’s name featured in all 10 counts, but both defendants pleaded not guilty to all the charges, and thereafter, the judge ordered them to be remanded in agency custody, where El-Rufai had been held since February 18, 2026.

The duo are to remain in the agency’s custody till next Tuesday, March 31,2026, scheduled for the hearing of their bail applications, however, before entering his plea El-Rufai challenged the judge’s impartiality, asking him to recuse himself from the case.

Penpushing also reports that El-Rufai, decked in green agbada with a cap to match, cited a petition he has against the judge, but the commission’s legal team countered, arguing that he must first enter his plea to the charges before he could make any complaint regarding the trial.

The judge agreed with the prosecution, and the co-defendant then entered their pleas of not guilty to the charges, however, the the charges filed on March 18, 2026, the agency accused El-Rufai of fraudulently taking inflated severance pay of about N289.8 million at the end of each of his two terms in office, instead of N20 million that he was legitimately entitled to on each occasion.

Penpushing reports that anti-graft agency alleged that El-Rufai took the first N289.8 million in September 2020 – after completing his first term in office in May 2019 – and the second N289.8 million in January 2023 – months before the end of his second term in May 2023.

The pays totalled N579.7 million, instead of the about N40 million he was said to be entitled to for the two terms, while the commission added that each of the pays represents 300% of his annual basic salary which he reasonably ought to have known that such fund formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act, to wit: corruption.”

Penpushing further reports that it said the offences were contrary to Section 18(2}(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition} Act, 2022.

The commission in the other eight counts, accused El-Rufai of receiving deposits of alleged proceeds of corruption and fraud totalling $817,900 in tranches in his Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) domiciliary account, and allegedly received the deposits while he was serving as the governor of Kaduna State.

Penpushing also reports that the agency said El-Rufai, who served two terms as governor from May 2015 to May 2023, received the deposits in tranches, ranging from $4,000 to $320,800., and allegedly received the deposits in the same domiciliary account from various individuals between 2016 and March 2023.

The commission stated that El-Rufai co-defendant, Adoga, appeared as a defendant in only one out of the 10 counts, but named him in another count as one of the persons who deposited money in El-Rufai’s dollar domiciliary account.

Penpushing reports that it would be recalled that the anti-graft agency rearrested El Rufai on February 18, 2026 as soon as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) released him after two days of detaining him over corruption allegations.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) earlier this month explained in a court filing that it was detaining El-Rufai to conclude his investigation, and gave the explanation in a filing opposing a suit El-Rufai filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Penpushing further reports that El-Rufai alleged that his arrest and detention violated his fundamental rights, and prayed the court to declare the actions of the anti-graft agencies unlawful and to award him N1 billion in damages.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), said it started investigating El-Rufai after receiving a petition accusing him and officials of his administration of financial misconduct between 2015 and 2023.

Penpushing also reports that the petition raised allegations relating to loans obtained by the Kaduna State Government, procurement processes, transfers from government accounts and payments to companies and individuals.

The commission said it began preliminary investigations and obtained documents from banks and government institutions. It then issued an invitation letter dated February 9, 2026, while El-Rufai is also facing prosecution by the State Security Service (SSS) over alleged phone-tapping claims involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

Penpushing reports that the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed April 23, 2026 for his arraignment in that case, however, the former governor has challenged some of the actions taken against him in court, including a search conducted at his Abuja residence, which he described as unlawful.

The former Governor also filed a N1 billion suit against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Inspector-General of Police, and others, seeking to nullify the search warrant used for the operation and restrain authorities from relying on items recovered during the search.

Penpushing further reports that the commission and the police have opposed the suit, maintaining that the search was conducted lawfully based on a valid court order, but El-Rufai has denied any wrongdoing and described the investigations as politically motivated.

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