ICPC has filed amended nine-count fraud charge against El-Rufai as court adjourned his bail ruling.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has filed an amended nine-count charge against former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over alleged fraud and abuse of office.
Court documents indicate that the new charge, filed on April 10, 2026, before the Kaduna State High Court, replaces an earlier 10-count charge that was largely centred on alleged money laundering under the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
At Monday’s court proceedings, defence counsel, Ukpong Abang, expressed surprise over the revised charges, stating that they were only served to the defence team in court.
“The charges are entirely new to us. They were given to us this morning while we were already in court,” Abang said, adding that the legal team would review the allegations before responding.
The court subsequently adjourned ruling on El-Rufai’s bail application to April 14.
The amended charge marks a shift in focus from financial transactions to alleged governance-related offences during El-Rufai’s tenure. Among the allegations, the ICPC accused the former governor of inducing the Kaduna State Government to confer an N11 billion benefit on Indokaduna MRTS JV Nigeria Limited for a light rail project that was allegedly not executed.
The commission also alleged that El-Rufai approved and received about N289.8 million in severance benefits, significantly above the legally approved amount of about N20 million framing it as an abuse of office.
Additionally, the ICPC claimed that over $1 million linked to a World Bank loan was mismanaged and disposed of in violation of agreed terms.
Other counts include allegations that El-Rufai and an associate attempted to influence federal investigators in 2025 through meetings held in Dubai and Cairo, as well as claims of procurement violations in the award of multi-billion-naira CCTV surveillance contracts.
The amended charge also accuses the former governor of unlawful land revocation and reallocation to associates, including a property along the Kaduna-Zaria Expressway.
El-Rufai was initially arraigned alongside businessman Amadu Sule; however, the revised charge now lists him as the sole defendant following the withdrawal of one co-accused.
With the updated filing, the case has broadened into a comprehensive corruption and abuse of office trial, drawing significant public attention.
The court’s decision on the bail application is expected to shape the next phase of proceedings in what is becoming one of Nigeria’s most closely watched corruption cases involving a former state governor.
