The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has filed a five-count charge against Jimi Lawal, a former aide to ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, accusing him of corruption and money laundering.
The case with charge number FCH/KD/16c/2025 was filed by the Assistant Chief Legal Officer of ICPC, Dr Osuobeni Ekpi Akponimishingha, at the Federal High Court in Kaduna on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
Lawal, who served as Senior Special Adviser/Counsellor to El-Rufai, is charged alongside Umar Waziri, Yusuf Inuwa, and Solar Life Nigeria Limited.
The complainant alleged that, in 2018, Lawal “indirectly took control of the sum of N10,000,000 from the Kaduna State Accountant General Operational Account 0211139802 via the Guaranty Trust Bank Automated System (GAPS) and paid it into the Guaranty Trust Bank Account 0130133086 of Solar Life Nigeria Limited, an account for which he was the sole signatory.”
The ICPC further stated that Lawal ought to have known that the funds were part of the proceeds of corruption, saying by doing so, he allegedly committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
In count two of the charges, Lawal is accused of indirectly taking control of N47,840,000 from the Kaduna State Ministry of Finance through a bank account in July 2018.
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The ICPC alleged that in September 2018, Lawal, while serving as a public officer in Kaduna State as Senior Special Adviser/Counsellor to El-Rufai, took control of N7,320,562 from the Kaduna State Internally Generated Revenue Account.
The funds were said to have been domiciled in a bank account and later transferred to the bank account of Solar Life Nigeria Limited, an account for which he was the sole signatory.
The ICPC emphasised that Lawal ought to have known the funds were proceeds of an unlawful act of corruption, which the commission said contravened Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
In another count, the ICPC alleged that in October 2024, Lawal made false statements to Messrs. Wellington Nkemadu and Gudi Johnson Daniel during their investigative duties.
“Jimi Lawal claimed that the total sum of N64,800,562 – received in three tranches of N10,000,000, N47,840,000, and N7,320,562 from the Kaduna State Government through the Guaranty Trust Bank Account of Solar Life Nigeria Limited – was paid to Bariatu Yusuf Mohammed and Aisha Dikko as estacode,” the commission added.
The ICPC said Lawal knew the statement was false and, in doing so, committed an offence under Section 25(1)(a) and punishable under Section 25(1)(b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
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