By Nworisa Michael
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has pleaded not guilty to money laundering charges brought against him, as a Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna adjourned the case to March 31, 2026.
The plea followed his arraignment on Tuesday under tight security.
El-Rufai is facing a 10-count charge bordering on alleged financial misconduct. However, his legal team maintained that he is directly linked to only one of the counts.
Speaking to journalists after the court session, his lawyer downplayed the allegations, stating that they largely relate to deposits into the former governor’s domiciliary account and the monetisation of his earnings.
“The charges against Malam El-Rufai are essentially allegations concerning deposits into his domiciliary account and the monetisation of his earnings. Out of about 10 counts filed, he was joined in only one,” the lawyer said.
He further explained that the prosecution moved to arraign the former governor despite pending applications before the court. According to him, the judge exercised discretion by allowing the arraignment to proceed while fixing a later date to address outstanding matters.
“What happened is that the prosecution applied to arraign him. I pointed out that Malam El-Rufai had pending proceedings before the court, but the judge, in his wisdom, allowed the arraignment and adjourned the matter to March 31 to hear the pending applications,” he added.
On the issue of bail, the defence counsel clarified that although a bail application had already been filed, it could not be heard immediately.
“As for bail, no application could be taken today. The arraignment has just taken place, and the matter has been adjourned to March 31 for the hearing of the bail application,” he said.
El-Rufai was brought to court amid heavy security presence, with operatives of the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force, and other agencies deployed around the premises. Journalists were, however, denied access to the courtroom by DSS operatives, raising concerns over transparency.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) disclosed that the former governor was arraigned alongside one Joel Adoga over allegations involving the conversion of public property and money laundering.
The anti-graft agency also confirmed a separate case pending before a Kaduna State High Court against El-Rufai and another individual, involving allegations of abuse of office, fraud, and conferring undue advantage.
His arraignment follows weeks of controversy surrounding his arrest and detention. He was initially arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on February 16, granted bail on February 18, and subsequently re-arrested by the ICPC.
The prolonged detention had attracted criticism from political stakeholders and civil society groups, who described it as a violation of his fundamental rights.
With proceedings now adjourned, attention is expected to shift to March 31, when the court will hear pending applications, including the bail request.
