El-Rufai may spend night at EFCC over alleged N432bn fraud

2026-02-16 - 18:59

By Luminous Jannamike ABUJA – Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, may spend the night at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headquarters in Abuja, where investigators are questioning him over allegations of financial misconduct involving about N432 billion. An EFCC source confirmed that the former governor is currently with investigators but said it is still unclear how long the session will last. “He is with our investigators, but cannot confirm how long he would be questioned, it is still early to know how long he will stay there,” the source said. El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna State between 2015 and 2023, is under investigation over loans obtained during his administration, which a Kaduna State House of Assembly ad-hoc committee alleged were mismanaged or used without due process. The former governor has denied the allegations, insisting they are politically motivated. Reacting to the political dimension of the development, opposition figure and former presidential spokesman Umar Sani said: “Nasir El-Rufai’s engagements are deliberate and calculated designed to drag the government out of its comfort zone and force it into open confrontation. “The objective is to expose the intellectual hollowness of those in power, publicly ridicule them, and push them into disarray. Fully aware that this government is intolerant of criticism, he exploits that weakness effectively. “In this regard, he is succeeding. El-Rufai has become a one-man riot squad and, unmistakably, the face of the opposition.” The EFCC investigation, which began in 2024 following petitions from groups and the Kaduna Assembly, is ongoing, and no formal charges have yet been announced. Several calls and messages sent to EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, were not answered as of press time.