Protesters demand El-Rufai’s trial for alleged N423bn theft

Protesters, on Thursday, stormed the Kaduna State Government House asking Governor Uba Sani to invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other relevant security agencies to arrest and prosecute his predecessor,  Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, following his criminal indictment by the state House of Assembly.

The state Assembly in a recent probe report accused El-Rufai and some of his appointees of N423bn theft from the state coffers.

The protesters, in huge numbers under the aegis of Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance, gathered around 11 am and marched from the popular UTC Bus Stop along Sokoto Road to the main entrance into Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, Kaduna in the state capital.

They carried placards with inscriptions such as “We will occupy all MDAs to chase out all indicted persons in the report,” “Stop servicing all loans that did not follow due process before they were obtained,”  “Jimi Lawal almost killed Kaduna State the way he killed a bank some years ago,” among others.

The PUNCH reported that an ad hoc committee set up by the Kaduna State House of Assembly to investigate all finances, loans and contracts awarded under El-Rufai indicated the former governor, saying most of the loans obtained between 2015 and 2023 were not used for the purpose for which they were obtained.

The committee led by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Henry Zacharia, recommended the prosecution of El-Rufai, some other indicted members of his cabinet by security and anti-corruption agencies for abuse of office and money laundering.

The probe by the state Assembly followed the lamentation by incumbent  Governor Sani that El-Rufai left him a huge debt profile.

Sani, who spoke during a town hall meeting in Kaduna in April, said he inherited a lean treasury, adding that he could not pay workers’ salaries.

Sani said, “Despite the huge debt burden of N587m, N85bn, and N115bn contractual liabilities sadly inherited from the previous administration, we remain resolute in steering Kaduna State towards progress and sustainable development.

“We have conducted a thorough assessment of our situation and are sharpening our focus accordingly.”

The revelation by Sani had generated reactions from several quarters, including El-Rufai’s son, Bashir, who took to his social media handle and accused his father’s successor of shying away from his responsibility.”

The leader of the protesters, Victor Duniya, while addressing newsmen shortly after arriving at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim Government House, called on the state governor to implement relevant sections of the House of Assembly ad hoc committee report on El-Rufai and other indicted that fell under his purview.

He also called on the governor to officially forward the findings of the House Committee report to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other relevant agencies for them to commence the process of recovering the N423bn allegedly misappropriated by the immediate-past governor and others indicted.

Duniya said, “We, Kaduna Citizens Watch for Good Governance, appreciate your presence as we express our grievances today. Our state has endured financial mismanagement, abuse of power, and a growing debt burden for the past eight years.

“As concerned citizens, we condemn in the strongest terms possible the outright and merciless looting of our state, which has widened the poverty gap in the state by the immediate past administration.

“We commend Governor Uba Sani for holding on to the ideals of the democracy he worked for by not interfering in the activities of the Kaduna State House, as many people expected you to stop the legislative arm of government from doing their work, as it was done in the past.

“We commend Governor Uba Sani for running an open government, where regular consultations are carried out with various stakeholders, especially during town hall meetings.

“We commend the Kaduna State House of Assembly for the thorough work done in unravelling the financial atrocities committed against our state, despite blackmails and threats from the beneficiaries of the financial heist.

“We call on Governor Uba Sani to implement relevant sections of the report that fall under his purview.

“We call on the Governor to officially forward the findings of the committee report to relevant anti-corruption agencies to enable them to swing into action and recover our resources at their disposal.

“We assure you of our maximum support as we are aware that those who ought to be behind bars for looting our state now have the effrontery to dish out threats to the people-centered leadership of our dear state.

“We call on Security Agencies to immediately arrest and prosecute former governor Nasir El-Rufai and those he has incited to bring down the government of Senator Uba Sani.

“We appreciate your peaceful presence in our endeavor to bring positive change to our beloved state, despite the challenging weather conditions.”

Meanwhile, Duniya was later received on behalf of the protesters by the Deputy Governor, Hajiya Hadiza Balarabe,  Secretary to the State Government, Abdulkadir Meyere, Deputy Chief of Staff, Umar Hassan Waziri, Private Personal Secretary, Prof. Bello Ayuba, among others.

The government officials appreciated the group’s peaceful protest, and assured them that their message would be forwarded to the governor who was unavoidably absent at the time the protesters arrived at the Government House.