The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has officially disclosed plans to arraign three former officials who were closely associated with the administration of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru El-Rufai, in connection with a ₦64 million money laundering scandal that has attracted significant attention. The three individuals facing charges are Lawal Adebisi, who served as the Senior Special Adviser/Counselor to the governor; Umar Waziri, the former Accountant General of Kaduna State; and Yusuf Inuwa, the ex-Finance Commissioner of the state.
In a statement released on Thursday by Demola Bakare, the spokesperson for ICPC, it was revealed that Solar Life Nigeria Limited, the company whose account allegedly received the misappropriated funds, is also implicated in the case. The company’s account was reportedly used to divert large sums of money in three separate transactions: ₦10 million, ₦47.84 million, and ₦7.32 million, totaling ₦64,800,562. The ICPC claims that Adebisi, in collaboration with the other accused individuals, played a key role in funneling these funds into the account of Solar Life Nigeria Limited, where Adebisi is identified as the sole signatory to the account. This act of diverting public funds into a private account is being scrutinized under the commission’s anti-corruption and financial fraud regulations.
According to the statement, all four individuals implicated in the scandal, including the representatives from Solar Life Nigeria Limited, are set to appear before the court on Friday, January 17, 2025, to face charges and respond to the allegations in an official plea hearing. This high-profile case follows a separate legal action taken by the ICPC just the week before, where another key figure, Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu, who previously held the position of Chief of Staff and Commissioner of Finance in Kaduna State, was arraigned for allegedly laundering ₦155 million. Sa’idu is accused of receiving the sum of money from Ibrahim Muktar, a public officer within the Ministry of Finance, in what is believed to be another attempt to conceal ill-gotten gains through fraudulent financial schemes.
