Kaduna State High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of the bail application of Bashir Sa’idu, ex-chief of staff to former governor Nasir El-Rufai, till Thursday.
Sa’idu is on trial on a 10-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering, embezzlement and stealing.
He was also Commissioner for Finance in the El-Rufai administration.
The charges, filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, alleged that Sa’idu sold $45million in hard currency belonging to the Kaduna State Government—equivalent of ₦18,450,000,000—at the significantly undervalued rate of ₦410 per dollar, instead of the parallel market rate of ₦498 per dollar, with criminal intent, resulting in a ₦3,960,000,000 loss to the government.
The prosecution further alleged that the ₦3.96 billion discrepancy was laundered by Sa’idu, in violation of Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Sa’idu pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Counsel for the defendant, M.I. Abubakar, notified the court of a pending bail application and urged the court to grant his client bail, as he had already spent 21 days in custody since his arrest on January 2, 2025.
However, the prosecution counsel, Prof. Nasiru Aliyu, objected to the bail application, arguing that the law provides seven days for the prosecution to file its response.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Isa Aliyu said the prosecution should be given adequate time to file its response to the bail application.
The hearing of the bail application was then adjourned till January 23, 2025.
