Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Malam Nasir el-Rufai on Friday was discharged and acquitted of charges of abuse of power while in office by an Abuja High Court.
El-Rufai, who was FCT minister from 2003-2007 during the regime of former President Olusegun Obasanjo was arraigned over illegal grabbing of land in the nation’s capital.
He was subsequently charged under the Corrupt and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, for using his position to corruptly revoke a plot of land from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria Plc and re-awarded same to his wife, Hadiza Ahmed.
However, the court cleared him of any wrong doing in the land allocation.
The former minister while speaking through his spokesman, Muyiwa Adekeye, thanked God for vindicating him.
“It is a vindication he never doubted will come, confident in his innocence and the integrity with which he served this country”, Adekeye said.
The former minister’s spokesman noted that despite the persecution el-Rufai faced while the trial lasted, he has decided to put all this in the past.
“He intends to move on, stepping confidently into the future with forgiveness and goodwill, devoid of the cobwebs of grudge”, Adekeye added.
