Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna, was arraigned in the Kaduna High Court on Monday by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on an amended nine-count charge that included allegations of fraud and abuse of power.
Ukpong Abang, el-Rufai’s attorney, told reporters following the sessions that the prosecution changed the allegations and dropped Amadu Sule, the other defendant, from the case.
According to Abang, the court accepted el-Rufai’s plea and took his bail request into consideration.
He continued by saying that the defence was served with the new charges in court during the hearing, which prevented the case from moving further.
“The charges are entirely new to us. They were given to us this morning while we were already in court. That is why the matter could not proceed to a hearing,” Abang said.
“The prosecution amended the charge and removed one person, leaving only Mallam el-Rufai to face prosecution.
“We will analyse the charges and make our position known. For now, there is nothing we can do until we have fully reviewed them.”
Darius Khobo, the presiding judge, adjourned the matter to Tuesday, April 14, for a hearing on el-Rufai’s bail application.
ANOTHER CRIMINAL CHARGES
Meanwhile, on April 14, the former governor is scheduled to appear before the federal high court in Kaduna to request bail in connection with a different criminal accusation brought by the ICPC.
The ICPC charged el-Rufai and Joel Adoga with suspected fraud and money laundering on March 24 at the federal high court in Kaduna.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Join Our Social Media Channels:
WhatsApp: NaijaEyes
