The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has reportedly linked six real estate assets in Egypt to Nasir el-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna state.
TheCable understands that the properties were discovered during the commission’s probe of el-Rufai’s tenure as governor.
El-Rufai is yet to react to the allegations but has continued to maintain his innocence since his arrest, alleging that he is being persecuted for his political choices.
All the assets — three villas and six apartments — are said to be located in highbrow estates and areas in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
Based on checks by TheCable, villas in Arabilla Estate and Banafsik Estate, both in New Cairo, are sold for between $1,000,000 and $1,300,000.
Meanwhile, apartments in Cairo Festival City have a price tag of around $500,000 each.
Sources privy to the ICPC’s investigation informed TheCable that the real estate assets in the North African country were purchased between 2021 and 2023.
El-Rufai was the governor of Kaduna during the reported period of acquisition.
| S/N | PROPERTY | LOCATION | QUANTITY | HOUSE NOs |
| 1 | VILLA | ARABILLA ESTATE, 5TH SETTLEMENT AREA, NEW CAIRO, EGYPT | 1 | 113 |
| 2 | VILLA | BANAFSIK ESTATE, FIRST SETTLEMENT AREA, NEW CAIRO. EGYPT | 1 | 18 |
| 3 | VILLA | ORIANA II, NEW CAIRO, (NEAR AMERICAN UNIVERSITY) EGYPT | 1 | 11 |
| 4 | APARTMENT | CAIRO FESTIVAL CITY, NEW CAIRO, EGYPT | 4 | 514,515,516 & 517 |
| 5 | APARTMENTS | ORIANA ESTATE, NEW CAIRO, EGYPT | 2 | 4000 & 4100 |
‘I DON’T NEED MANSIONS, BIG HOUSES’
In a 2023 interview in Hausa, el-Rufai had said that, unlike some people, he “didn’t syphon the money to Dubai and buy houses or go to Jabi Road and build a mansion”.
Then, serving out his second term as Kaduna governor, el-Rufai had boasted of having only one house, saying he did not need mansions or big houses.
“We aren’t like such people. I became the Governor of Kaduna State with only one house located at Danja Street in Unguwan Sarki, Kaduna,” Daily Trust quoted him as saying.
“I have completed my tenure, Alhamdulillah…that is my only house. I don’t have any other house. I didn’t build a mansion. I don’t even need it.”
ICPC/EFCC PROBE, DSS GRILLING
The ICPC is probing el-Rufai over alleged financial impropriety during his tenure as governor of Kaduna state between 2015 and 2023.
The former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has been in the custody of the ICPC since February 18.
The commission conducted a raid on his Abuja residence on February 19, during which wire-tapping equipment was reportedly discovered.
Before being taken into ICPC custody, el-Rufai had been grilled by the Department of State Services (DSS) over his allegation that the phone of Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser, was tapped.
The DSS has since filed a three-count charge against him for allegedly intercepting the NSA’s telephone conversation.
El-Rufai had also spent two nights at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) following his arrival from Cairo on February 12.
In 2024, the Kaduna state house of assembly indicted him over the alleged diversion of N423 billion in public funds and money laundering, and demanded that anti-graft agencies investigate him.
EL-RUFAI FIGHTS BACK
The former director-general of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) has sued the ICPC over the alleged unlawful invasion of his Abuja residence.
He is seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that the search and seizure carried out by operatives of the ICPC and the Nigeria Police Force violated his fundamental rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and privacy.
He is also asking the court to hold that any evidence obtained from the search is inadmissible in any proceeding against him.
He is further seeking an order restraining the respondents from relying on or tendering any material seized during the search in the course of any investigation or prosecution.
The former Kaduna governor has demanded N1 billion as general, exemplary and aggravated damages for what he described as trespass, unlawful seizure and the psychological trauma and reputational harm allegedly occasioned by the search.
FRESH LEGAL ACTION
El-Rufai has also accused the ICPC of defamation and forgery, threatening a separate legal action against the anti-graft agency.
In a pre-action notice, lawyers representing el-Rufai alleged that the commission issued a defamatory press statement and relied on forged documents in connection with his arrest and detention.
His family has also demanded his immediate and unconditional release from custody, saying his continued detention by the ICPC has no legal basis.
El-Rufai has maintained that the probe against him is politically motivated.
He said he is being investigated because of his membership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), “the only surviving opposition party in Nigeria”.
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