A Kaduna State High Court has denied bail to Alhaji Bashir Sa’idu, the former Chief of Staff to ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and ordered his remand in a Correctional Facility.
Sa’idu faces a 10-count charge, including allegations of money laundering, embezzlement, and stealing during his tenure as Commissioner of Finance.
The prosecution accused Sa’idu of undervaluing and selling $45 million of state-owned hard currency at N410 per dollar instead of the parallel market rate of N498 per dollar, causing a N3.96 billion loss to the Kaduna State Government.
Sa’idu pleaded not guilty to the charges and sought bail, citing his 21-day custody since his January 2, 2025 arrest.
However, Justice Isa Aliyu ruled in favour of the prosecution’s request for more time to respond and adjourned the hearing on the bail application to January 23, 2025.
The charges violate Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
