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Kaduna Assembly Hires Foremost Human Rights Lawyer Femi Falana To Prosecute Ex-Gov El-Rufai For Mega Corruption
Media learnt that Falana will lead a battery of lawyers to begin unravelling the monumental corruption on Thursday in Kaduna.
Kaduna House Of Assembly has hired human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN) to prosecute the former governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai corruption.
It was learnt that Falana will lead a battery of lawyers to begin unravelling the monumental corruption on Thursday in Kaduna.
Earlier in July, the Kaduna State House of Assembly reaffirmed its position on the allegations of financial misconduct levelled against former Governor El-Rufai.
According to the Assembly’s findings, El-Rufai’s administration diverted a staggering sum of N423,115,028,072.88 during his tenure.
The Assembly also denounced the attempts made by some political appointees, who recently held a press conference in Abuja, to discredit the House and conceal the alleged fraud committed by the El-Rufai government.
A statement released by the Chairman Fact-Finding Committee and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Henry Magaji, said, “The attention of the Kaduna State House of Assembly has been drawn to a press conference addressed by some senior political appointees of the immediate past administration of Malam Nasir El-Rufai.
“In the press conference, the former political appointees made strenuous efforts to pick holes in the report of the Probe Committee. They resorted to name calling and wild allegations on the motivations for the House Probe. We wish to state as follows:
“The press conference was just a rehash of the vituperations and innuendoes heaped on us by the former political appointees in their first press briefing. There was nothing new that should warrant our response. They failed to address the main issue, which is the systematic and coordinated cornering of the resources of Kaduna State through phoney contracts and outright looting.”
“If they genuinely have the interest of Kaduna State and are truly men and women of integrity, they would have applied themselves to developing the state instead of participating in the alleged pilfering of its scarce resources,” he added.
In June, the State House of Assembly demanded the immediate refund of N36 billion allegedly paid for illegal contractual transactions by El-Rufai’s government.
This was stated in the recommendations submitted by the House Committee set up to probe alleged fraud and abuse of office by El-Rufai’s government.
According to the committee, the government of El-Rufai paid the sum of N36 billion for contracts that were not done.
The committee added that the administration violated the state procurement laws.
The committee said, “That the Contractors listed hereunder should refund to the Kaduna State Government a total sum of N36,351,126,811.65 being monies paid for work either not done, overpayment or diversion as follows:- Ronchess Global Resources PLC, Chamberlayne Global Concept Ltd, M/S Prestige Integrated Services Ltd, M/S Philco Nig. Ltd, M/S Gulu Engineering & Technical Services Ltd, CCECC Nigeria Ltd, Danjiro Nigeria Ltd and Rafali Nigeria Ltd.
“Others are Sanjo Nigeria Ltd, Konstrand Nigeria Ltd, Spectrum Engineering Ltd, Bindigary Construction Ltd, Gmorli Nigeria Ltd, Shiyuma Nigeria Ltd and Farm Track Nigeria Ltd.”
The total amount involved was put at N36,351,126,811.65.
The committee also said that “unjustified cash withdrawals to the tune of N4,936,916,333.00 made between 2019 and 2022 by the Commissioner of Finance and the Accountant General of the State should be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for in-depth investigation and necessary action”.
It continued: “That, the unjustified withdrawals of the sum of $1.4 Million USD from the Kaduna State Economic Transformation Account No. 0809009141 for the period of 30/10/2020 – 06/05/2020 be referred to the relevant Law Enforcement Agencies for in-depth investigation and appropriate action.”
“That, the sum of N632,456,000.00 only paid to Tulip Future Associates Ltd without official engagement as Consultants be recovered by the State Government,” it added.
Bandits have killed a monarch,his wife, his son, and three other residents in a deadly night attack on Olegabulu community in Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State.
Residents said the attack happened on Thursday night when the armed men, numbering about four and arriving on two motorcycles, stormed the palace of the monarch and opened fire on him and his family members.
According to a resident who requested anonymity, the attackers entered the community without raising suspicion, reportedly exchanging greetings with locals in the native dialect before heading straight to the royal residence. Once inside, they opened fire, killing the traditional ruler, his wife, and his son on the spot.
The attackers were said to have spent about 20 minutes in the community. After the assault on the palace, they reportedly moved to a nearby compound where they killed two additional residents and left another person injured before fleeing the scene.
Eyewitnesses described the incident as coordinated and deceptive, noting that the gunmen initially blended in with residents before launching the attack.
The Chairman of Agatu Local Government Area, Melvin Ejeh, confirmed the incident, stating that five people were killed and one person sustained injuries.
He added that security operatives, including police personnel, have since visited the scene.
Meanwhile, the Police Public Relations Officer in Benue State, DSP Udeme Edet, said she was yet to receive full details of the attack at the time of filing this report.
Proceedings in the case involving former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, were on Thursday adjourned till May 6, 2026, by Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, represented the prosecution, while Bello was represented by his lead counsel, Mr Joseph Daudu.
During proceedings, the prosecution informed the court of the need for more time to respond to applications filed by the defence, while Bello’s legal team urged the court to consider their submissions and move the matter forward.
Justice Nwite, in his ruling, adjourned the case to May 6 to allow all parties to adequately prepare and ensure a fair hearing.
Mr Bello is currently facing charges bordering on alleged financial misappropriation during his tenure as governor, allegations he has repeatedly denied.
Nigeria is set to experience one of the highest increases in food insecurity worldwide in 2026, according to the latest Global Report on Food Crises released on April 24, 2026.
The report, compiled by agencies including the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Programme, raised fresh concerns over worsening hunger levels driven by insecurity, economic hardship and declining humanitarian funding.
According to FAO findings, about 4.1 million additional Nigerians could fall into acute food insecurity in 2026, placing the country among those with the largest increases globally.
Reacting to the development, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Mr Alvaro Lario, said “the crisis is becoming more prolonged and difficult to contain”.
“We are no longer seeing just temporary shocks, but persistent shocks over time,” warning that the situation is placing growing pressure on global stability.
FAO noted that about 266 million people across 47 countries face high levels of acute hunger in 2025, with conditions expected to remain severe into 2026.
In Nigeria, the situation is being worsened by continued insecurity in key farming regions, rising inflation and limited access to food.
According FAO projections, over 34 million Nigerians may experience crisis level hunger between June and August 2026, during the peak of the lean season.
The FAO Country Representative in Nigeria, Mr Hussein Gadain, said the combined impact of armed conflict, climate shocks, high food prices and cuts in global aid funding is pushing more Nigerians into hunger.
The report called for urgent and sustained intervention, warning that without immediate action, millions more could slide into emergency levels of food insecurity in the coming months.
BREAKING: Benue boils again as bandits invade palace, kill monarch ,wife, son three others
Yahaya Bello to know fate on May 6 as Court adjourns financial infractions case
Nigeria set to record largest surge in food insecurity globally in 2026-Reports
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