The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has reportedly linked six real estate assets in Egypt to Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna state.
TheCable reports that the properties were discovered during
the commission’s probe of el-Rufai’s tenure as governor.
El-Rufai is yet to react to the allegations but has
continued to maintain his innocence since his arrest, alleging that he is being
persecuted for his political choices.
All the assets — three villas and six apartments — are said
to be located in highbrow estates and areas in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
Based on checks by TheCable, villas in Arabilla Estate and
Banafsik Estate, both in New Cairo, are sold for between $1,000,000 and
$1,300,000.
Meanwhile, apartments in Cairo Festival City have a price
tag of around $500,000 each.
Sources privy to the ICPC’s investigation informed TheCable
that the real estate assets in the North African country were purchased between
2021 and 2023.
El-Rufai was the governor of Kaduna during the reported
period of acquisition.
|
S/N |
PROPERTY |
LOCATION |
QUANTITY |
HOUSE
NOs |
|
1 |
VILLA |
ARABILLA
ESTATE, 5TH SETTLEMENT AREA, NEW CAIRO, EGYPT |
1 |
113 |
|
2 |
VILLA |
BANAFSIK
ESTATE, FIRST SETTLEMENT AREA, NEW CAIRO. EGYPT |
1 |
18 |
|
3 |
VILLA |
ORIANA
II, NEW CAIRO, (NEAR AMERICAN UNIVERSITY) EGYPT |
1 |
11 |
|
4 |
APARTMENT |
CAIRO
FESTIVAL CITY, NEW CAIRO, EGYPT |
4 |
514,515,516
& 517 |
|
5 |
APARTMENTS |
ORIANA
ESTATE, NEW CAIRO, EGYPT |
2 |
4000
& 4100 |
‘I DON’T NEED MANSIONS, BIG HOUSES’
In a 2023 interview in Hausa, el-Rufai had said that, unlike
some people, he “didn’t syphon the money to Dubai and buy houses or go to Jabi
Road and build a mansion”.
Then, serving out his second term as Kaduna governor,
el-Rufai had boasted of having only one house, saying he did not need mansions
or big houses.
“We aren’t like such people. I became the Governor of Kaduna
State with only one house located at Danja Street in Unguwan Sarki,
Kaduna,” Daily Trust quoted him as saying.
“I have completed my tenure, Alhamdulillah…that is my only
house. I don’t have any other house. I didn’t build a mansion. I don’t even
need it.”
ICPC/EFCC PROBE, DSS GRILLING
The ICPC is probing el-Rufai over alleged financial
impropriety during his tenure as governor of Kaduna state between 2015 and
2023.
The former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
has been in the custody of the ICPC since February 18.
The commission conducted a raid on his Abuja residence on February 19, during
which wire-tapping equipment was reportedly discovered.
Before being taken into ICPC custody, el-Rufai had been
grilled by the Department of State Services (DSS) over his allegation that the
phone of Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser, was tapped.
The DSS has since filed a three-count charge against him for
allegedly intercepting the NSA’s telephone conversation.
El-Rufai had also spent two nights at the headquarters of
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following his arrival from
Cairo on February 12.
In 2024, the Kaduna state house of assembly indicted him
over the alleged diversion of N423 billion in public funds and money
laundering, and demanded that anti-graft agencies investigate him.
EL-RUFAI FIGHTS BACK
The former director-general of the Bureau of Public
Procurement (BPP) has sued the ICPC over the alleged unlawful invasion of his
Abuja residence.
He is seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that the
search and seizure carried out by operatives of the ICPC and the Nigeria Police
Force violated his fundamental rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair
hearing and privacy.
He is also asking the court to hold that any evidence
obtained from the search is inadmissible in any proceeding against him.
He is further seeking an order restraining the respondents
from relying on or tendering any material seized during the search in the
course of any investigation or prosecution.
The former Kaduna governor has demanded N1 billion as
general, exemplary and aggravated damages for what he described as trespass,
unlawful seizure and the psychological trauma and reputational harm allegedly
occasioned by the search.
FRESH LEGAL ACTION
El-Rufai has also accused the ICPC of defamation and
forgery, threatening a separate legal action against the
anti-graft agency.
In a pre-action notice, lawyers representing el-Rufai
alleged that the commission issued a defamatory press statement and relied on
forged documents in connection with his arrest and detention.
His family has also demanded his immediate
and unconditional release from custody, saying his continued
detention by the ICPC has no legal basis.
El-Rufai has maintained that the probe against him is
politically motivated.
He said he is being investigated because of his membership
of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), “the only surviving opposition party
in Nigeria”.
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