The case has been adjourned to April 8, 2025.
A Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna State has ordered the interim forfeiture of the sum of ₦1.37bn, allegedly diverted from the coffers of the state government into a private account during the administration of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
The money allegedly diverted into an account belonging to Indo Kaduna Marts JV Nigeria Limited, was part of the funds released for a botched light rail project in Kaduna State during the past administration.
The presiding Judge, Justice H. Buhari, issued the forfeiture order on February 28, 2025, following an ex parte application brought before the court by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which traced the diverted fund to a private bank account.
The judge also directed ICPC to publish a notice in two national newspapers, calling for persons, whether human, juristic or artificial having interest in the property to show cause in court why the aforesaid movable property should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.
ICPC had on February 14, 2025, filed an ex parte application to the Federal High Court, seeking the recovery of the money. The commission argued that the light rail project was never executed under the El-Rufai administration, thereby depriving the people of Kaduna State of the benefits of the rail transportation system, which the fund was meant for.
In the ex parte application filed by its lawyer, E.O Akponimisingha on February 28, ICPC alleged that the Kaduna State Government officials diverted the money through the Indo Kaduna MRTS JV Nig Limited, a joint venture entity set up in 2016 by the state government and Indian businesspeople.
While ruling on ICPC’s application, the judge ordered the interim forfeiture of the money, and also directed the Commission to publish a notice in any two national newspapers, requesting any person with interest in the property to present their claim and show cause in court why the asset should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government.
The case has been adjourned to April 8, 2025, for interested people who may want to claim the money to make their case before the court.
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER NOW
Support MATAZ ARISING’ journalism of integrity and credibility.
Good journalism ensure the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy, and a transparent government.
We ask you to consider making a modest support to this noble endeavour.
TEXT AD: To advertise here – Email ad@matazarising.com
LATEST POSTS
-
Tinubu, Atiku, Ige and a 1998 story
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas By Lasisi Olagunju (Published on Monday, 31 August, 2026) There is an old Nigerian joke about Noah and the Ark; author unknown. God warned Noah that a flood was coming and gave him six months to build an ark. But this Noah was a Nigerian. Before he could cut the first plank,…
-
Summit ahead of 2027: Uncertainty trails opposition parties’ single candidate plan against Tinubu
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas Tinubu, Atiku, Obi, others: Big promises ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Who can fix Nigeria? • Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso, Makinde, others remain on separate platforms • G-100 in search of structure as Wike predicts easiest election yet for president. By Clifford Ndujihe, Omeiza Ajayi & Liminous Jannamike Uncertainty is trailing tomorrow’s…
-
Tinubu’s Rainbow Coalition Is Outpacing Nigeria’s Opposition -And the Data Proves It
MaTaZ ArIsInGDallas, Texas Tinubu’s Rainbow Coalition Is Outpacing Nigeria’s Opposition, and this week’s numbers make that gap difficult to ignore. Thirteen articles tracked the coalition story this week, compared with just nine about the opposition camp trying to challenge it. That may not look like a huge difference, but it becomes significant when viewed against…
