Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was on Wednesday night taken to the headquarters of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in Abuja for further questioning, shortly after his release from the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
Multiple security sources told PLATFORM TIMES that the former governor was moved from the EFCC facility to the ICPC as investigations into alleged financial misconduct and other matters intensified.
Sources disclosed that operatives of the Department of State Services were present at the EFCC headquarters on Wednesday night when El-Rufai was released. However, the DSS denied reports that it arrested or detained the former governor, insisting he was not in its custody.
A senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly, said the former governor may be required to respond to separate inquiries by the EFCC, ICPC and security agencies over allegations ranging from financial misappropriation to the disappearance of a prominent government critic.
The EFCC is said to be probing allegations bordering on a purported N432 billion fraud, including claims of misappropriation of loans, breach of due process in contract awards and money laundering during his tenure.
Investigators are also examining Kaduna State’s debt profile and projects allegedly tied to the loans obtained under his administration.
In a related development, security sources confirmed that the DSS has reopened investigations into the 2019 disappearance of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State, who was declared missing on August 1, 2019, after gunmen reportedly abducted him from his Kaduna residence.
According to a top security source, the renewed probe followed what he described as “months of intelligence gathering,” with fresh leads allegedly linking key actors to the incident.
The source claimed that investigators were examining whether the former governor, who was in office at the time of the abduction, had any connection to the case.
The DSS had earlier seized El-Rufai’s international passport at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, last Thursday, reportedly to prevent him from travelling out of the country amid ongoing investigations.
A security official alleged that the former governor had planned to leave for Cairo after honouring invitations from anti-graft agencies.
“El-Rufai is aware that multiple investigations are ongoing. The seizure of his passport was a preventive step to ensure he remains available to investigators,” the source said.
Efforts to get official reactions from the EFCC, ICPC and DSS were ongoing as of the time of filing this report. Calls and messages sent to associates of the former governor were yet to be returned.
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