ICPC Files ₦64.8m Money Laundering Charges Against Ex-El-Rufai Aide Jimi Lawal
ICPC Files ₦64.8m Money Laundering Charges Against Ex-El-Rufai Aide Jimi Lawal
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has charged Jimi Lawal, a former adviser to ex-Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, with alleged money laundering and diversion of public funds totaling ₦64.8 million. The charges, filed alongside Umar Waziri, Yusuf Inuwa, and Solar Life Nigeria Limited, were submitted on January 15, 2025, at the Federal High Court, Kaduna, under Charge No. FCH/KD/16c/2025.
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The ICPC alleges that in 2018, Lawal illegally transferred ₦10,000,000 from the Kaduna State Accountant General’s Operational Account through Guaranty Trust Bank’s Automated System (GAPS) into the account of Solar Life Nigeria Limited, where he was the sole signatory. Additional accusations include the diversion of ₦47,840,000 from the Kaduna State Ministry of Finance and ₦7,320,562 from the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service, all funneled into the same account.
According to the ICPC, “Lawal ought to have known that the funds were part of proceeds of corruption, and by doing so, he allegedly committed an offence contrary to Section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022.”
Furthermore, Lawal is accused of misleading investigators by claiming that the ₦64,800,562, transferred in three tranches, was used as estacode payments to Bariatu Yusuf Mohammed and Aisha Dikko. The ICPC asserts that the statement was knowingly false, constituting an offence under Section 25(1)(a) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
