THERE was mild drama at the Kaduna State High Court on Monday as former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was overheard discussing the African Democratic Congress (ADC) national convention scheduled for Tuesday.
News Point Nigeria reports that the opposition party has maintained its resolve to proceed with the convention despite a warning from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) advising against it.
According to observations at the court premises, El-Rufai, who is a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), arrived at about 9 a.m. and was briefly seen exchanging words with one of his loyalists.
Dressed in a white babbar riga and an ash-coloured cap, the former governor was seen reading from a white document in his hand as he made his way into the courtroom accompanied by his lawyers.
“So tomorrow is the convention, right?” El-Rufai was heard asking, to which the loyalist responded, “God’s willing.”
He subsequently smiled and proceeded into the courtroom alongside one of his wives.
Security presence was noticeably heavy at the court premises, with tight arrangements also observed on roads leading to the venue.
This newspaper gathered that the former governor was arraigned before the State High Court alongside one Amadu Sule on allegations bordering on abuse of office, fraud, intent to commit fraud, and conferring undue advantage.
The charges, filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), are separate from those before the Federal High Court, where his bail application is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday in Kaduna.
Meanwhile, the ADC has described El-Rufai’s trial as a witch-hunt, accusing the Federal Government of targeting opposition figures.
