A forensic investigator with the Department of State Services (DSS), Segun Kayode, has told the Kaduna State High Court that former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and some of his associates allegedly earmarked $600,000 to pay officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and intermediaries.
Kayode, the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial, made the allegation on Tuesday while testifying before Justice Darius Khobo at the Kaduna State High Court sitting in Kawo, Kaduna.
The witness told the court that $500,000 and $100,000 were allegedly set aside for the payments, adding that forensic audio recordings captured conversations involving El-Rufai and some of his suspected associates.
According to Kayode, the conversations centred on alleged efforts to frustrate an EFCC investigation into a company identified as Singularity.
He told the court that a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, another individual and Bashir El-Rufai were among those allegedly mentioned in the recorded conversations.
The investigator further alleged that the Senior Advocate and the other individual were directed to meet one Ahmadu Sule to obtain a template previously used to liquidate another company, with the intention of applying a similar process to Singularity.
Kayode also alleged that the discussions included plans to liquidate the company in Nigeria and Mauritius, where it was reportedly under investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit.
He added that the recordings contained conversations about preventing the EFCC from investigating a company he said was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The allegations formed part of the prosecution’s evidence against the former governor and have yet to be established by the court.
Proceedings lasted nearly eight hours, from 12:26 p.m. to 8:18 p.m., with approximately two hours devoted to playing the recorded conversations.
After Kayode submitted a hard copy of his findings to the court clerk, the defence objected, arguing that the document should have been served earlier to allow adequate time to study its contents.
Justice Khobo, however, ruled that the defence could obtain a certified true copy of the document admitted as Exhibit One for examination.
The court adjourned the case until November 30 and December 1, 2026, for continuation of cross-examination, following agreement by the prosecution and defence.
