A former Special Adviser to the immediate past Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, Mr. Jimi Lawal, has been summoned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in connection with an alleged fraudulent Light Rail Project valued at N11 billion.
Reports indicate that there was no official contract file for the implementation of the purported light rail project, despite the alleged full payment for the project. Lawal was expected to appear before the ICPC investigators yesterday but failed to show up and did not send a representative.
The ICPC has since requested that the Department of State Service (DSS) and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) place Lawal on a watch list across all airports, seaports, and land borders to prevent him from fleeing the country.
The anti-graft commission is also investigating Lawal for loans obtained both domestically and internationally without following due process. Preliminary investigations revealed that his account with a major bank showed transactions amounting to N144 million from four private companies.
A copy of the ICPC’s letter to DSS and NIS states: “The above-mentioned person (Lawal Shakiru Olujimi Adebisi) is being investigated for the offence of criminal conspiracy. Credible information at the commission’s disposal suggests that the suspect, who is under investigation, is most likely to flee the country to evade prosecution. You are therefore, kindly requested to place him on the watch-list and arrest him if seen in any of the airports, seaports, or land borders and inform this commission accordingly.”
In addition to Lawal, 20 top officials and the Managing Director of a company have also been summoned by the ICPC over $350 million in loans intended for the rehabilitation of schools and strategic infrastructure. These individuals are scheduled for interrogation from August 13 to August 16.
The ICPC’s investigation into the El-Rufai administration follows a series of petitions and allegations. In June, an ad-Hoc Committee of the Kaduna House of Assembly claimed to have uncovered the siphoning of N423.1 billion from the state government’s coffers during El-Rufai’s tenure from May 2015 to May 2023. The committee also highlighted a cumulative withdrawal of $1.4 million from the Kaduna State Economic Transformation Account.
However, former Governor El-Rufai has denied all allegations and has taken legal action to challenge the report, claiming that the Kaduna House of Assembly did not give him a fair hearing.
