A witness in the corruption trial of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has alleged that $600,000 was earmarked to bribe officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and an intermediary to halt investigations into some companies.
Gatekeepers News reports that the allegation was made on Tuesday by Segun Kayode, a senior operative of the Department of State Services (DSS) and digital forensics examiner, while testifying before the Kaduna State High Court presided over by Justice Darius Khobo.
According to the witness, $500,000 and an additional $100,000 were allegedly set aside for the planned inducement.
The proceedings lasted about nine hours before the court adjourned the case until November 30 and December 1, 2026.
El-Rufai was questioned in the witness box throughout the proceedings until the court adjourned.
Kayode told the court that his team conducted forensic analyses of telephone call records and audio recordings obtained during investigations initiated following a formal request from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
He said the investigation covered selected telephone numbers belonging to El-Rufai and some of his suspected associates, including Jimi Lawal, AU Mustafa, Ahmadu Sule, Sam Darwish and others.
According to Kayode, the analysis was conducted after approval from the Director-General of the DSS, following a directive from the Director of Counter-Terrorism.
He explained that he obtained call data records from the department’s telecommunications intelligence unit through a secure server, in line with established procedures for preserving electronic evidence.
The witness said he employed information technology tools to establish communication links between El-Rufai and the other individuals, while Microsoft Excel worksheets were used to analyse the frequency of their interactions.
Kayode told the court that his findings revealed repeated communications involving El-Rufai, his elder brother, Bashir El-Rufai, and Sam Darwish between October 25 and 28, 2025.
He said the findings prompted further examination of audio recordings obtained from the DSS communication intelligence unit.
To preserve the integrity of the evidence, Kayode said he immediately created an image of the original audio recording and produced four duplicate copies, while keeping the original securely stored.
He added that a Hausa-language expert on his team, identified as Aliyu Mainasara, was engaged to transcribe the recording and translate it into English.
The witness further told the court that the audio underwent forensic examination using industry-standard tools to assess its acoustic characteristics and determine whether it was consistent with a human recording or artificially generated audio.
According to Kayode, the analysis detected vocal frequency characteristics in the recording.
The testimony forms part of the ongoing proceedings in the corruption case against the former governor. The allegations presented in court remain subject to the judicial process.
