By Bayero Ade
The Kaduna State High Court has pushed back the hearing of a bail request for Bashir Sa’idu, former Chief of Staff to ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai, to Thursday, January 23, 2025.
As reported by Vanguard, Sa’idu, who also served as the state’s Commissioner for Finance under El-Rufai, is facing a 10-count charge brought by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The charges include allegations of theft, embezzlement, and money laundering.
The ICPC alleges that Sa’idu sold $45 million, a sum belonging to the Kaduna State Government, at an undervalued exchange rate of ₦410 per dollar instead of the prevailing market rate of ₦498 per dollar. This transaction reportedly caused a financial loss of ₦3.96 billion to the state. It is further alleged that Sa’idu laundered the misappropriated funds in violation of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Sa’idu has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
During the court session, Sa’idu’s legal representative, M.I. Abubakar, sought his client’s release on bail, highlighting that Sa’idu had already spent 21 days in detention since his arrest on January 2, 2025.
Opposing the bail request, the prosecution, led by Prof. Nasiru Aliyu, argued that the law provides the prosecution with seven days to respond to such applications.
Justice Isa Aliyu, presiding over the matter, ruled in favor of allowing the prosecution additional time to submit its response. As a result, the bail hearing was rescheduled for January 23, 2025.
Until the hearing takes place, Sa’idu will remain in custody as the legal proceedings move forward.
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