Governor Abiodun’s Aide, Abidemi Rufai has been ordered to remain in detention indefinitely by the Western District of Washington in Tacoma, United States.
This comes after the US Department of Justice said that the surety offered by Ogun Governor’s suspended assistant is a suspected fraudster.
Rufai is being investigated in the United States for a $350,000 COVID-19 unemployment scam.
On Wednesday, he was set to be released, but the court approved the US government’s plea for “a stay of the release order.”
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle granted the order.
“The release order is STAYED, and the defendant shall remain in custody pending this Court’s decision on the government’s motion for review,” Mr Settle was quoted to have said.
Read; Abidemi Rufai, SSA to Ogun State Governor, Arrested For Fraud In The US
On his trip to Amsterdam, Rufai was detained at the airport on May 14.
During the COVID-19 outbreak last year, the US claimed he stole more than $350,000 in unemployment benefits from the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) using the identities of more than 100 Washington people.
Despite the fact that Rufai’s lawyer, Michael Barrows, stated that he had no “involvement in these transactions,” Governor Abiodun suspended him.
Last Wednesday was Rufai’s first court appearance.
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