ICPC Arraigns El-Rufai, Ex-Aide, Five Companies Over Alleged ₦8.68bn CCTV Contract Fraud
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has arraigned former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, his former Senior Special Adviser and Counsellor, Jimi Lawal, and five companies over alleged corruption and money laundering linked to an ₦8.68 billion CCTV surveillance contract.
The defendants were arraigned before Justice Hauwa’u Buhari of the Federal High Court, Kaduna, on an amended 11-count charge filed by the anti-graft agency.
The case is marked FHC/KD/93C/2026.
In a statement published on its website on Thursday, the ICPC said El-Rufai was listed as the first defendant in the charge.
Other defendants are Lawal, Singularity Network Security Limited, Solar Life Nigeria Limited, Knowledge Investment Nigeria Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Limited and Noble Coast Resources Limited.
The commission also listed Bashir El-Rufai, identified in the charge as an elder brother of the former governor, in one of the counts, stating that he is currently at large.
According to the amended charge, El-Rufai, while serving as governor of Kaduna State, allegedly approved the award of a contract for the procurement, survey planning, final design and installation of a Closed-Circuit Television, CCTV, surveillance system in Kaduna metropolis.
The contract, according to the ICPC, was awarded at a reviewed cost of ₦8.68 billion to Singularity Network Security Limited.
The anti-graft agency alleged that the company lacked the required experience and qualifications to execute the project, thereby making the award a violation of public procurement laws.
One of the counts alleged that El-Rufai aided an act of corruption by approving the CCTV contract despite allegedly knowing that the company awarded the project lacked the requisite experience and that the procurement process violated the law.
The ICPC further alleged that proceeds from the contract were subsequently transferred through several companies and individuals.
According to the charge, the defendants allegedly received, possessed and moved funds exceeding ₦2 billion through a series of transactions involving Singularity Network Security Limited, Solar Life Nigeria Limited, Knowledge Investment Nigeria Limited, Intercellular Nigeria Limited and Noble Coast Resources Limited between 2017 and 2022.
The alleged offences are said to be contrary to provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The alleged offences are said to be contrary to provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
When the charges were read in court, El-Rufai and Lawal pleaded not guilty.
Following their plea, Justice Buhari adjourned the matter until July 1, 2026, for ruling on the defendants’ bail applications.
The latest case adds to a growing list of corruption-related prosecutions brought against the former Kaduna governor by the ICPC.
In March, the commission arraigned El-Rufai and an associate, Joel Adoga, before the Federal High Court in Kaduna over the alleged laundering of ₦579 million and $1.1 million, said to be proceeds of unlawful activities.
The defendants pleaded not guilty in that case.