Former Gov. Abiodun aide, Abidemi Rufai out of U.S. prison, faces deportation after fraud conviction

Gov. Abiodun’s former aide, Abidemi Rufai released from U.S. prison faces deportation after multimillion-dollar fraud conviction.

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun’s former aide, Abidemi Rufai has been released from prison in the United States, Peoples Gazette reports.

The 47-year-old was freed from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons’ custody at Fort Dix, New Jersey, on November 15, 2024. Rufai, who was convicted of a felony, is now preparing for deportation in line with the terms of his guilty plea.

His Nigerian passport, which had been held by authorities, was returned to him on October 21, 2024 after he filed a motion to reduce his sentence. When he pleaded guilty to allegations of tax fraud and aggravated identity theft in 2022, Mr Rufai waived his rights to challenge deportation after serving out his jail sentence.

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In the year 2022, he received a prison sentence totaling 60 months after being found guilty on two separate counts of fraud. This serious decision came after federal prosecutors were able to build a very strong case against him, presenting compelling evidence that detailed a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme. They supported their case with an astonishing amount of documentation, which included around 100,000 pages of evidence. This evidence was carefully prepared and then brought before a federal judge in Tacoma, Washington, where the judge was tasked with reviewing the information and making a fair judgment based on the facts presented. The nature of the fraud was so significant that it captured the attention of the legal system, leading to a lengthy and thorough examination of the circumstances surrounding the case.

The terms were scheduled to run concurrently. Mr Rufai, widely known as Elele Ruffy, was scheduled to be released on Valentine’s Day in 2025 but a judge approved his motion to be released earlier based on new sentencing guidelines, and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons forwent the three months left of his sentence.

He was ordered to pay $607,000 in restitution to the U.S. government agencies across multiple states, and a Nigerian court ordered the seizure of his Lekki mansion in Lagos and bank accounts after the anti-graft office EFCC filed fraud charges against him.