By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Immediate past Governor of Kaduna state, North-Central Nigeria, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, on Thursday reportedly visited Kaduna Correctional Centre where his former Chief of Staff, Mohammed Bashir Sa’idu, is on remand.
Sa’idu was sent to the Correctional Centre by a Kaduna Magistrate Court following his arraignment on charges relating to alleged money laundering and corruption.
Nigerian laws deem an accused person innocent until convicted by a competent court of law.
El Rufai reportedly met with Sa’idu, who was also,at a stage, his administration’s Commissioner for Finance and Local Government, but on leaving the Correctional Centre,the former governor refused to speak with newsmen on his mission.
Sources said the visit came just hours after Sa’idu was remanded over allegations of corruption and money laundering while in office.
Sa’idu was arrested on Monday and taken to a Magistrate Court at Rigasa, which ordered that he be remanded in the custody.
Sources added that El Rufai, accompanied by three key figures and former Commissioners during his tenure, arrived at the facility around 10:19 am and left about 30 minutes later.
Those who reportedly accompanied him were the former Commissioner of Education, Jafaru Sani; former Commissioner of Human Services and Social Development, Hafsat Baba; and former Commissioner for Environment, Ibrahim Hussaini.
El Rufai, who donned a green cap and light green agbada (babanriga), subtly rebuffed attempts by journalists to have a word with him on his visit to the Correctional Centre.
Coming out of the facility with a straight face, the one-time Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s federal administration, quickly boarded one of the Toyota Prado vehicles that escorted him and zoomed off.
Meanwhile, a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hausa Service report monitored on Thursday evening, said El Rufai also visited the office of Operation Fushin Kada, which had tracked and arrested Sa’idu, but reportedly did not meet the particular security operatives he allegedly sought.
Furthermore, he reportedly also met with some top brass of the state Police Command,but details of the parley were unknown even as he still maintained stoic silence over the matter.
It would be recalled that while confirming his arrest, the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) said Sa’idu was picked up over allegations of money laundering, criminal breach of trust, and misappropriation of public funds.
Police insiders claim that the ongoing investigation of Sa’idu followed a petition accusing him of laundering N3.96 billion and misappropriating N244 million while serving the state government between 2015 and 2023,which spanned El Rufai’s two-term constitutional tenure of eight years.
Other allegations include the sale of $45 million of state-owned foreign currency at an undervalued exchange rate of N410 per dollar, instead of the parallel market rate of N498 per dollar, causing a loss of over N3.96 billion to the government.
The insiders said that such transactions breach Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Additionally, the former aide is accused of failing to account for proceeds from the sale of government houses in Marafa Estate, Kaduna, amounting to approximately N244 million –an offence said to constitute a breach of trust under Section 300 of the Penal Code of Kaduna State, 2017.
Sai’du’s woes arose from the Kaduna State House of Assembly’s investigations that fingered him as allegedly master-minding several underhand dealings while serving in the El Rufai administration.
The Assembly is reported to have forwarded its findings to the NPF as well as the two anti-corruption agencies, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Unconfirmed report claimed that as part of the ongoing investigations, Sa’idu’s international passport has been seized by the court.
