The embattled aide to former governor of Kaduna state Alhaji Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu, on Thursday told the court that he did not have the power to convert funds into naira. He made the assertion on Thursday on the resumption of the hearing in the money laundering case.

Alhaji Muhammad stated that the decision on currency conversion lay with the governor and alleged that whenever the need arose to convert funds, former governor Nasir El-Rufai always gave his approval.

The charge against the former Chief of Staff was that he allegedly sold $45 million in hard currency, belonging to the Kaduna State Government — equivalent to ₦18,450,000,000 — at the significantly undervalued rate of ₦410 per dollar.

At the time dollar at the parallel market was at the rate of ₦498 per dollar, resulting in a ₦3,960,000,000 loss to the government, alleged by the prosecution.

It will be recalled that the Chief Magistrate Court in Rigasa had remanded Muhammad at the Kaduna Correctional Centre following his arrest and arraignment by security agencies on December 31, 2024