A senior operative of the State Security Service (SSS), Segun Kayode, has told a Kaduna State High Court that $600,000 was allegedly earmarked to bribe officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and an intermediary to stop investigations into some companies linked to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
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Kayode, a digital forensics examiner, made the allegation on Tuesday while testifying in the former governor’s corruption trial before Justice Darius Khobo.
The witness alleged that $500,000 was earmarked for EFCC officials, while another $100,000 was intended for an intermediary to halt the investigations.
Kayode said the allegations were contained in audio recordings his team analysed during investigations following a formal request from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The proceedings lasted about nine hours, with El-Rufai remaining in the courtroom throughout the hearing before the court adjourned the case until November 30 and December 1, 2026.
Kayode told the court that his team conducted forensic analysis of telephone call records and audio recordings involving selected telephone numbers belonging to El-Rufai and some of his suspected associates, including Jimi Lawal, AU Mustafa, Ahmadu Sule and Sam Darwish.
He said the Director-General of the SSS approved the exercise, after which the Director of Counter-Terrorism directed his team to carry out the analysis.
According to him, he obtained the relevant call data records from the department’s telecommunications intelligence unit through a secure server, in line with standard procedures for preserving electronic evidence.
The witness said he used information technology tools to establish relationships among El-Rufai and the other individuals, while his team used Microsoft Excel worksheets to analyse the frequency of their communications.
He told the court that the analysis revealed repeated communications between El-Rufai, his elder brother, Bashir El-Rufai, and Sam Darwish from October 25 to 28, 2025. He said the findings prompted further examination of audio recordings obtained from the SSS communication intelligence unit.
Kayode said he created an image of the original audio recording and produced four duplicate copies, while keeping the original secured to preserve the integrity of the evidence.
He added that a Hausa-language expert, Aliyu Mainasara, transcribed the recording and translated its contents into English.
The witness said forensic experts examined the audio using industry-standard tools to determine its acoustic characteristics and assess whether it matched a natural human recording or artificially generated audio.
He said the analysis detected vocal frequency characteristics and a 50Hz electrical hum, along with its harmonics, which he said were consistent with a recording from a natural environment rather than AI-synthesised audio.
He further told the court that biometric voice analysis indicated that the recording contained a telephone conversation between El-Rufai and his elder brother, Bashir.
On the contents of the conversation, Kayode alleged that El-Rufai directed AU Mustafa and Jimi Lawal to meet Ahmadu Sule and obtain a template previously used to liquidate Olam for possible application in liquidating a company identified as Singularity.
He further alleged that the recording contained discussions about stopping an ongoing EFCC investigation into Singularity and liquidating the company in Nigeria and Mauritius. He said the conversation also referred to an investigation by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in Mauritius.
Kayode also alleged that the recording contained instructions for Sam Darwish, Jimi Lawal and AU Mustafa to prevent the EFCC from investigating IHS, which he said was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
The witness said the conversation referred to $500,000 allegedly earmarked for EFCC officials and another $100,000 for an intermediary to stop the investigations.
He told the court that his team subsequently completed a detailed forensic investigative report, which was tendered in evidence.
However, counsel to El-Rufai, Paul Erokoro, SAN, objected to the witness’s testimony and the tendering of the forensic report, arguing that the defence had not been given adequate notice of the evidence before the witness appeared in court.
Erokoro argued that the fact that Kayode had been subpoenaed to testify did not exempt the prosecution from providing the defence with the proposed evidence in advance.
He maintained that the defendant was entitled to adequate notice of the evidence against him to prepare for effective cross-examination. He also questioned why the document was introduced without additional supporting evidence or the appropriate filing, describing the procedure as an ambush.
The defence counsel argued that admitting the report under the circumstances would violate the defendant’s fundamental rights. He added that the SSS, like the ICPC, is a Federal Government agency and should not receive special treatment in prosecuting the case.
Responding, Federal Government counsel Ayodeji Adedipe dismissed the objection as unfounded and lacking legal basis.
Adedipe described the objection as an afterthought, arguing that the court had already addressed the issue in earlier proceedings, including whether the evidence of a subpoenaed witness had to be listed in the proof of evidence.
Justice Khobo overruled the defence’s objection and allowed Kayode to continue his testimony. The judge said the defence could apply to the court’s registry for a copy of the evidence and obtain a certified true copy.
The prosecution told the court it had two witnesses, one of whom was present to testify.
El-Rufai arrived at the court for the resumed hearing accompanied by Isa Ashiru, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Kaduna State. Security was tight around the court premises ahead of the proceedings.
The former governor is facing corruption and money-laundering charges filed against him by the ICPC. The allegations made by the SSS witness remain subject to judicial scrutiny, and the defence can challenge the evidence as the trial progresses.
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