Why Granting Bail to Abidemi Rufai is Dangerous, US Govt
- Abidemi Rufai, the embattled aide to Ogun state governor, may not be granted bail any time soon
- The US government is worried that if it releases Rufai, he might escape to his home country, Nigeria
- This view was put forward by the US acting attorney, Tessa Gorma
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The United States (US) justice department has revealed why it will be dangerous to grant bail to Abidemi Rufai, an aide to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state.
A letter to Ramon Reyes, the US magistrate judge in Eastern District of New York, said if Rufai escapes to Nigeria after being granted bail, "extradition will be extraordinarily difficult or impossible because of his ties to the Nigerian government.”
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The letter was written by the acting US attorney, Tessa Gorman, as exclusively reported by Premium Times.
Earlier, Rufai was arrested in the US over alleged $350,000 unemployment benefits fraud. He was quizzed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation on Saturday, May 15, at the John F Kennedy International Airport in New York following a criminal complaint.
Legit.ng gathered that he was subsequently charged with defrauding the Washington State Employment Security Department of over $350,000.
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The suspect was said to have used the stolen identities of more than 100 Washington residents to file fraudulent claims with ESD for pandemic-related unemployment benefits.
It was said that Rufai was accused of using variations of a single e-mail address in a manner intended to evade automatic detection by fraud systems.
Gorman said in a statement that more than $288,000 was deposited into an American bank account controlled by Rufai between March and August 2020.
After his arrest by the US government, Rufai was suspended by Governor Abiodun.
Reacting through his chief press secretary, Kunle Somorin, Governor Abiodun said the news of his aide’s involvement in fraud is disturbing.
Abiodun also condemned any act capable of undermining his determination to institute an open, transparent, accountable and morally upright behaviour in the state and in governance.
He added that he remains committed to his agenda of building the future of the state, saying that he would not condone criminals either in his government or the state in general.
Source: Legit.ng
