Alhaji Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu, the former Chief of Staff to ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, the accused has shifted the blame to his former boss.
During the hearing at the Chief Magistrate Court in Rigasa on Thursday, Sa’idu claimed that he lacked the authority to convert funds into naira, asserting that such decisions were solely the governor’s prerogative.
Sa’idu, who was remanded at the Kaduna Correctional Centre following his arrest and arraignment by security agencies on December 31, 2024, stands accused of selling $45 million in hard currency belonging to the Kaduna State Government at a significantly undervalued rate of ₦410 per dollar. The prosecution alleges that this transaction, which took place in 2022 when Sa’idu served as Commissioner of Finance, resulted in a staggering ₦3,960,000,000 loss to the government, as the parallel market rate at the time stood at ₦498 per dollar.
The prosecution further contends that the ₦3,960,000,000 discrepancy was laundered by Sa’idu, constituting a violation of Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. If found guilty, Sa’idu could face imprisonment for a term ranging from four to 14 years, a fine amounting to no less than five times the value of the proceeds of the crime, or both, as stipulated by Section 18(3) of the Act.
In his defense, Sa’idu maintained that currency conversion procedures were not within his purview as the Commissioner of Finance but were instead dictated by then-Governor El-Rufai. He stated, “Whenever the need arose to convert funds to naira, the Governor would direct how much to convert. Bids from various buyers were obtained, and in most cases, the bids I forwarded to His Excellency for approval were higher than those available in the parallel market.”
As the case unfolds, the court will have to weigh the evidence presented by both the prosecution and the defense to determine the culpability of the accused and the extent of the alleged financial impropriety. The outcome of this high-profile case is likely to have significant implications for the fight against corruption and money laundering in Nigeria, particularly in relation to the accountability of public officials and the management of state funds.