A Federal High Court in Kaduna State has rejected the bail application filed by Bashir Saidu, the former Chief of Staff to ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai. Saidu, who also served as Commissioner for Finance under El-Rufai's administration, is facing a 10-count charge that includes money laundering, embezzlement, and misappropriation of public funds belonging to the Kaduna State Government.
Saidu was arrested on January 2, 2025, and has since been held at the Kaduna Correctional Centre. During Tuesday’s court session before Justice Isa Aliyu, Saidu pleaded not guilty to the charges read against him.
The charges include allegations that Saidu sold $45 million in government funds at an undervalued rate of ₦410 per dollar instead of the parallel market rate of ₦498 per dollar, resulting in a loss of ₦3.9 billion to the state. The prosecution claims the alleged offence occurred in 2022 while Saidu was serving as Commissioner for Finance.
The prosecution further alleges that the ₦3.9 billion discrepancy was laundered, in violation of Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Defense counsel M.I. Abubakar urged the court to grant bail to his client, citing his 21-day detention. However, prosecution counsel Professor Nasiru Aliyu opposed the application, arguing that the law allows the prosecution seven days to file a response to the bail request.
Justice Isa Aliyu ruled in favor of granting the prosecution adequate time to respond, as stipulated by law. The court has adjourned the case to January 23, 2025, for the hearing of the bail application.
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