El-Rufai Trial: Witness Alleges $600,000 Bribe Plan to Halt EFCC Probe

A Department of State Services (DSS) operative has told a Kaduna State High Court that a telephone recording allegedly captured discussions about $600,000 in payments to stop investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

A senior DSS operative and digital forensics examiner, Segun Kayode, gave the testimony on Tuesday during the corruption trial of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai. He alleged that $500,000 was earmarked for EFCC officials, while another $100,000 was meant for an intermediary.

Justice Darius Khobo presided over the proceedings, which lasted about nine hours. The court adjourned the case until November 30 and December 1, 2026.

Kayode said his team analysed telephone records and audio recordings following a formal request from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

He explained that the exercise covered selected telephone numbers linked to El-Rufai and some of his suspected associates. They included Jimi Lawal, AU Mustafa, Ahmadu Sule and Sam Darwish.

According to the witness, the DSS Director-General approved the exercise before the Director of Counter-Terrorism assigned his team to conduct the analysis. He obtained call data records from the department’s telecommunications intelligence unit through a secure server.

Kayode said he used information technology tools to establish links among the individuals. His team also used Microsoft Excel to analyse the frequency of their communications.

The analysis, he told the court, revealed repeated calls involving El-Rufai, his elder brother, Bashir El-Rufai, and Sam Darwish between October 25 and 28, 2025. The findings prompted further examination of audio recordings from the DSS communication intelligence unit.

To preserve the evidence, Kayode said he created an image of the original recording and made four duplicate copies. He kept the original in secure storage to protect its integrity.

He also engaged a Hausa-language expert, identified as Aliyu Mainasara, to transcribe the recording and translate it into English.

The witness said his team subjected the audio to forensic tests to establish its acoustic characteristics and determine whether it originated from a natural conversation or artificial intelligence-generated audio.

According to Kayode, the examination detected vocal frequency characteristics and a 50-hertz electrical hum, including its harmonics. He said these features were consistent with a natural recording rather than AI-generated audio.

He added that biometric voice analysis indicated that the recording captured a telephone conversation between El-Rufai and his elder brother, Bashir.

On the alleged contents, Kayode told the court that El-Rufai directed AU Mustafa and Jimi Lawal to meet Ahmadu Sule. He said the former governor allegedly instructed them to obtain a template previously used to liquidate Olam, for possible use in liquidating a company identified as Singularity.

The witness further alleged that the conversation addressed efforts to stop an ongoing EFCC investigation into Singularity. It also discussed plans to liquidate the company in Nigeria and Mauritius, alongside an investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit in Mauritius.

Kayode also alleged that the recording contained instructions for Sam Darwish, Jimi Lawal and AU Mustafa to prevent the EFCC from investigating IHS, which he described as listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

He said the conversation referred to $500,000 allegedly earmarked for EFCC officials and $100,000 for an intermediary to halt the investigations.

The allegations formed part of the witness’s account of the recording. The court has yet to establish their veracity.

Kayode said his team prepared a detailed forensic investigative report and submitted it to the court as evidence.

However, El-Rufai’s lawyer, Paul Erokoro, SAN, challenged the testimony and opposed the admission of the report. He argued that the defence had not received adequate notice of the proposed evidence before the witness appeared.

Erokoro maintained that the prosecution’s decision to subpoena Kayode did not remove its obligation to disclose the evidence to the defence in advance. He said the defendant needed sufficient notice to prepare for an effective cross-examination.

The defence counsel also questioned why the prosecution sought to introduce the report without additional proof of evidence or the appropriate filing. He described the move as an ambush and argued that admitting the document would violate his client’s fundamental rights.

Erokoro further insisted that the DSS should not receive special treatment because it was a government agency. He noted that both the DSS and the ICPC operated under the Federal Government and should follow the same rules governing the presentation of evidence.

Responding, the Federal Government’s counsel, Ayodeji Adedipe, dismissed the objection as lacking legal basis.

Adedipe described the defence’s position as an afterthought. He argued that the court had addressed the issue during earlier proceedings, including whether the prosecution needed to list the evidence of a subpoenaed witness in its proof of evidence.

Justice Khobo overruled the objection and allowed Kayode to continue his testimony. The judge said the defence could apply through the court registry for a copy of the evidence and obtain a certified true copy.

The prosecution told the court that it had two witnesses, with one available for examination during the proceedings.

El-Rufai arrived at the court for the resumed hearing alongside Isa Ashiru, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Kaduna State. Security personnel maintained a strong presence around the court premises.

The case centres on corruption and money-laundering charges the ICPC filed against the former governor. The prosecution’s allegations remain subject to judicial determination, while the defence retains the opportunity to challenge the evidence presented against him.