Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was on Monday night detained at the Abuja headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission following hours of questioning over an alleged N432 billion corruption investigation.
El-Rufai, a senior figure in the African Democratic Congress, arrived at the commission’s Jabi office in Abuja around 10 a.m. in response to an invitation.
Sources within the anti-graft agency said he was interrogated over findings from a 2024 investigative report by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, which accused his administration of loan mismanagement, contract irregularities and plunging the state into heavy debt.
A senior EFCC official said the probe had been ongoing for nearly a year, noting that the former governor’s invitation followed what investigators described as substantial groundwork.
“He is still in our custody and won’t be released today,” the source said late Monday.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale confirmed that El-Rufai honoured the commission’s summons but declined to provide details of the interrogation or the next steps.
Beyond the financial allegations, the former governor is also expected to face questions over claims that he authorised the surveillance of the phone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The investigation stems from a legislative committee report presented last year, which alleged that several loans secured between 2015 and 2023 were either misapplied or diverted.
Lawmakers claimed about N423 billion was siphoned during the period, alongside disputed payments and contracts totalling over N155 million, the alleged diversion of N1.37 billion meant for a light rail project, and the laundering of N64.8 million by top aides.
The Assembly subsequently petitioned the EFCC and other anti-corruption bodies to prosecute those implicated.
El-Rufai has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, describing the accusations as politically motivated and insisting that all borrowings were lawfully appropriated and invested in infrastructure, education, healthcare and security projects.
His detention signals what observers see as a shift from preliminary review to active enforcement in the widening probe.
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