El-Rufai trial: Witness alleges $600,000 bribe to stop EFCC probe

A witness in the corruption trial of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has alleged that $500,000 and another $100,000 were set aside to bribe Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) officials and an intermediary to stop investigations into some companies.

The case, presided over by Justice Darius Khobo of the Kaduna State High Court, lasted about nine hours before it was adjourned until 30 November and 1 December 2026. The former Governor was grilled in the witness box and remained there throughout the proceedings until the court adjourned.

The witness, Segun Kayode, a senior operative of the Department of State Services (DSS) and digital forensics examiner, made the allegation on Tuesday while testifying before the Kaduna State High Court, presided over by Justice Darius Khobo.

Kayode told the court that his team conducted forensic analysis of telephone call records and audio recordings obtained during investigations following a formal request from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

He said the investigation involved selected telephone numbers belonging to El-Rufai and some of his suspected associates, including Jimi Lawal, AU Mustafa, Ahmadu Sule, Sam Darwish and others.

According to the witness, following approval by the Director-General of the DSS, the Director of Counter-Terrorism directed his team to carry out the analysis. He said he requested call data records from the department’s telecommunications intelligence unit and received the information through a secure server in line with standard operating procedures for preserving electronic evidence.

Kayode said he used IT tools to establish relationships between El-Rufai and the other individuals, while Microsoft Excel worksheets were used to analyse the frequency of communications between them.

He told the court that the analysis revealed repeated communications involving El-Rufai, his senior brother, Bashir El-Rufai, and Sam Darwish between 25 and 28 October 2025. The findings, he said, prompted further examination of audio recordings obtained from the department’s communication intelligence unit.

The witness said he immediately created an image of the original audio recording and produced four duplicate copies, while keeping the original secured to preserve the integrity of the evidence.

He added that a Hausa-language expert on his team, identified as Aliyu Mainasara, was engaged to transcribe the recording and translate it into English.

Kayode said the audio was also subjected to forensic examination using industry-standard tools to assess its acoustic characteristics and determine whether it was consistent with a human recording or artificially generated audio.

According to him, the analysis detected vocal frequency characteristics and a 50Hz electrical hum with its harmonics, which he said were consistent with audio originating from a natural environment rather than AI-synthesised audio.

He further told the court that he conducted biometric voice analysis to examine the identity of the speaker. His findings, he said, indicated that the recording was a telephone conversation between El-Rufai and his elder brother, Bashir.

On the contents of the recording, Kayode alleged that El-Rufai directed AU Mustafa and Gimi Lawal to meet Ahmadu Sule and obtain a template previously used to liquidate Olam, for possible use in liquidating a company identified as Singularity.

The witness further alleged that the recording contained discussions about stopping an ongoing EFCC investigation into Singularity and liquidating the company in Nigeria and Mauritius. He said the conversation also referred to an investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in Mauritius.

Kayode alleged that the recording included instructions that Sam Darwish, Gimi Lawal and AU Mustafa should prevent the EFCC from investigating IHS, which he said was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

He told the court that the conversation also referred to $500,000 allegedly set aside for EFCC officials and another $100,000 for an intermediary to stop the investigations. The allegations were presented as the witness’s account of the contents of the recording and had not been established as findings of the court.

The witness said his team completed a detailed forensic investigative report, a copy of which was submitted to the court as evidence.

However, El-Rufai’s counsel, Paul Erokoro, SAN, objected to the witness’s testimony and the tendering of the forensic report, arguing that the defence had not been given adequate notice of the evidence before the witness appeared in court.

Erokoro argued that although Kayode had been subpoenaed to testify, that did not exempt the prosecution from providing the defence with the proposed evidence in advance. He maintained that the defendant was entitled to notice of the evidence against him to enable effective cross-examination.

The defence counsel also questioned why the document was being introduced without an additional proof of evidence or the appropriate filing, describing the procedure as an ambush. He argued that admitting it would breach the defendant’s fundamental rights and insisted that the DSS’s status as a government agency should not entitle it to special treatment.

Erokoro said the DSS and ICPC were both agencies of the Federal Government and that the witness’s affiliation with the DSS should not create an exception to the rules governing the prosecution’s presentation of evidence.

Responding, the prosecution counsel for the Federal Government, Ayodeji Adedipe, argued that the defence’s objection was unfounded and lacked legal basis. He described it as an afterthought, saying the issue had already been addressed by the court in earlier proceedings, including the question of whether the evidence of a subpoenaed witness had to be listed in the proof of evidence.

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The judge overruled the defence’s objection, allowing Kayode to continue his testimony. The judge said the defence could apply for a copy of the evidence through the court’s registry and obtain a certified true copy (CTC).

At the proceedings, the prosecution said it had two witnesses, with one present in court to be examined.

Meanwhile, El-Rufai, who arrived at the Kaduna State High Court for the resumed hearing, was accompanied by Isa Ashiru, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in the state. Security was tight around the court premises ahead of the proceedings.

The case involves corruption and money-laundering charges filed against the former Governor by the ICPC. The allegations made by the witness remain subject to the court’s consideration and the defence’s opportunity to challenge the evidence.