A former aide to former governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, Olahimi Shakiru Adebisi Lawal and three others, are facing charges brought against them by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) before the Kaduna Division of the Federal High Court.

Lawal and other defendants are standing trial before Justice R.M Aikawa on allegations bordering on alleged fraudulent estacode payments and abuse of public office during their time in government service.

The trial of the defendants, according to a statement by ICPC spokesman, Demola Bakare, commenced on Monday, July 21, when the anti-graft agency called three former senior Kaduna State government officials to prove its case against them.

The first prosecution witness (PW1), a former Attorney-General of the state and Commissioner for Justice, Mrs. Aisha Dikko Kalil, told the court that all tuition fees for the foreign training she attended were paid directly by the state government to the respective institutions.

Kalil, served as Attorney-General between 2019 and 2023, however, added that estacode allowances were paid into her personal Guaranty Trust Bank account.

Led in her evidence-in-chief by the prosecuting counsel, Dr. Osuobeni Ekoi Akpos, the PW1 confirmed receiving over ?5million in estacode payments, adding that she never received any such payment from the first defendant, Mr. Lawal.

Mrs. Kalil further told the court that the tuition fee for courses she attended totalled $9,100.

The prosecutor tendered documents, including her account statement, approvals for foreign training, and certificates, in evidence.

While testifying before the court, the second prosecution witness (PW2), Mrs. Bariyatu Yusuf, who is a former Kaduna State Head of Service, corroborated the process of foreign training sponsorship and told the court that course fees and flight tickets were funded by the Ministry of Finance, while estacode payments were sent to her personal account.

She acknowledged receiving just under ?15million in estacodes and maintained that she never received any funds from Mr. Lawal even though she did not deny knowing him.

The ICPC spokesperson stated that Mrs. Yusuf’s certificates and account details were also tendered in court as evidence.

On his part, the third prosecution witness (PW3), Mr. Samuel Aruwan, who served as the spokesperson and later Commissioner for Security and Home Affairs, infirmed the court that his trainings were funded by the United States government and the Office of the National Security Adviser, not the Kaduna State government.

According to Aruwan, although he was professionally acquainted with the first defendant, he neither received estacode allowances from him (Lawal) nor from the state government.

Bakare stated that when the prosecutor sought to tender Aruwan’s written statement to ICPC, the defence counsel objected to its admissibility, citing procedural concerns since the statement was obtained during the pendency of the trial.

After listening to arguments from both sides on the admissibility of the statement, the court adjourned the matter to September 24 for ruling and continuation of hearing.

The case, according to Bakare, was being prosecuted by ICPC “as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of public funds”. (Nigerian Tribune)