EFCC arrests Ex-Lawmaker Gudaji Kazaure over alleged N70m credit alert From Emefiele

A former member of the House of Representatives, Gudaji Kazaure, has been taken into custody by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of receiving N70 million from former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

News360 Nigeria reports that operatives of the anti-corruption agency arrested Mr Kazaure on Wednesday, shortly after a Kano High Court lifted a restraining order that had earlier shielded the former lawmaker.

An EFCC source disclosed that Mr Kazaure allegedly collected N20 million in two instalments through an emissary identified as Mr Eric, reportedly sent by Mr Emefiele, to purchase Sallah rams. The source also revealed that another N50 million was later given to Mr Kazaure by Mr Emefiele as a “donation” following a fire outbreak at his residence.

The former lawmaker is currently being held at the EFCC’s Kano office and, according to the source, might be transferred to Abuja for prosecution.

It would be recalled that in December 2022, Mr Kazaure had publicly accused the then CBN Governor of corruption, claiming that N89.1 trillion in stamp duty charges had gone missing under Mr Emefiele’s watch. He further alleged that he was being prevented from presenting a preliminary report of a committee set up by former President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the alleged missing funds.

However, the Presidency, through a statement by the then presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, dismissed Mr Kazaure’s claims as false, clarifying that the said committee had been dissolved long before the allegations surfaced.