On Tuesday, Mohammed Bashir Sa’idu, a Kaduna State-based politician, who served as commissioner of local government affairs, chief of staff and commissioner of finance during the administration of former governor Nasir el-Rufai, was arrested by the police over a petition on alleged diversion of N4.1 billion in public funds.
Sa’idu had previously denied and dismissed the accusations in the petition in June.
In the petition, Sa’idu was accused of alleged money laundering to the tune of N3.9 billion and alleged misappropriation of N244 million.
Sa’idu was said to have mismanaged the funds between 2015 and 2023, when el-Rufai was governor of Kaduna.
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He was alleged to have sold $45 million belonging to the state government at the market rate of N410 per dollar in 2021, instead of N498 per dollar, resulting in a N3.9 billion shortfall.
Sa’idu was accused of being unable to account for the proceeds of the sale of the state government properties located at Marafa Estate while he was the committee chairman for the sale.
In June 2024, Sa’idu and some other commissioners who served under el-Rufai issued a joint statement, dismissing allegations of fund misappropriation by the Kaduna State House of Assembly.
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The group of commissioners went on to describe the allegation as “one motivated by malice”.
The commissioners went on to describe the document drafted for an intended probe by the assembly as one that was “irredeemably riddled with falsehood, predetermined conclusions and misrepresentation”.
The post After Initial Denial, Police Arrest el-Rufai’s Former Aide for ‘Misappropriating N4.1bn’ appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.