ICPC Arraigns Ex-Aide to El-Rufai, Jimi Lawal, Over Alleged Financial Impropriety

Jimi Lawal, a former senior adviser to ex-Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, now faces a five-count charge leveled by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The charges, which encompass unlawful diversion of public funds and money laundering, also implicate Umar Waziri, Yusuf Inuwa, and Solar Life Nigeria Limited.
The legal proceedings, filed under case number FCH/KD/16c/2025, were instituted by the ICPC’s Assistant Chief Legal Officer, Osuobeni Akponimisingha, on January 15, 2025, at the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
Allegations of Financial Misconduct
According to the ICPC, Lawal allegedly diverted ₦10 million from the Kaduna State Accountant General’s Operational Account via the Guaranty Trust Bank Account Automated System (GAPS) in 2018. The funds were purportedly deposited into the Guaranty Trust Bank account of Solar Life Nigeria Limited, for which Lawal is the sole signatory.
The commission asserts that Lawal was aware these funds constituted proceeds of corruption, thereby contravening Section 18(2)(d) and rendering him culpable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022.
Further Misappropriations
In July 2018, Lawal reportedly controlled an additional ₦47.84 million, funneled from the Kaduna State Ministry of Finance into the Guaranty Trust Bank account of Solar Life Nigeria Limited. Similarly, in September 2018, while holding public office as Senior Special Adviser to the governor, Lawal allegedly transferred ₦7,320,562 from the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service account at United Bank for Africa into the same account of Solar Life Nigeria Limited.
False Statements Under Investigation
The ICPC further accused Lawal of providing misleading information to investigators, Messrs. Wellington Nkemadu and Gudi Johnson Daniel. Lawal allegedly claimed that the total sum of ₦64,800,562—received in tranches of ₦10 million, ₦47.84 million, and ₦7.32 million—was distributed as estacode payments to Bariatu Yusuf Mohammed and Aisha Dikko.
The commission insists that Lawal was fully aware the claim was false, constituting a breach under Section 25(1)(a) and punishable under Section 25(1)(b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The legal storm surrounding Lawal underscores ICPC’s commitment to holding public officials accountable for mismanagement of resources, as Nigeria intensifies its fight against corruption.