A Kaduna State High Court has denied bail to Alhaji Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu, the former Chief of Staff, to Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, in a money laundering case filed against him.
The court delivered its ruling on Thursday, refusing the bail application principally on the ground that a formal charge had been filed at the Kaduna State High Court II against Sa’idu.
According to the Kaduna State Director of Public Prosecution, Samson Irimiya, “the bail application ruling was delivered refusing the bail application principally on the ground that since a formal charge had been filed by us, it is better that the applicant goes to the court where the charge is filed and pending to apply for bail.”
Sa’idu’s counsel, Oladipo Tolani, SAN, also confirmed that the court directed them to take the bail application to the court where the proper charges have been filed.
The former Chief of Staff is accused of selling $45m in hard currency belonging to the Kaduna State Government, equivalent to N18.4bn, at a significantly undervalued rate of N410 per dollar instead of the parallel market rate of N498 per dollar, resulting in an N3.9bn loss to the government in 2022.
A security source disclosed that “the former Chief of Staff sold 45 million US dollars in hard currency belonging to the Kaduna State Government, equivalent to N18.4bn, at the significantly undervalued rate of N410 per dollar. This was instead of the parallel market rate of N498 per dollar, with criminal intent, resulting in a N3.9 billion loss to the government in 2022.”
The prosecution further alleged that the N3.9 billion discrepancy was laundered by Sa’idu in violation of Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Sa’idu’s arraignment is scheduled for January 21, 2025, before Hon. Justice Isa Aliyu.
The former Chief of Staff was being investigated for allegedly laundering N3.96 billion and misappropriating N244m during his tenure in the Kaduna State government.
The Kaduna State House of Assembly had also indicted El-Rufai’s government for allegedly syphoning state government funds to the tune of over N423bn.
