By ifeoma Onyekachi

Hajiya Umma El-Rufai, mother of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has passed away, her family announced on Friday.

Her grandson, Hon. Bello El-Rufai, confirmed the death in a Facebook post, where he described her as a devoted mother and grandmother and appealed to the public to pray for her soul.

“Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. I would like to inform the public of the demise of my grandmother, Hajiya Umma El-Rufai who passed away a few hours ago. We are grateful for the life she lived and may Allah bless her gentle soul. On behalf of our family, we seek your prayers,” he wrote.

Her death comes at a difficult time for the family, as Nasir El-Rufai remains in detention over an ongoing corruption case filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission. He is facing a 10-count charge bordering on alleged conversion of public property and money laundering.

The former governor has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Meanwhile, a Federal High Court in Kaduna presided over by Justice Rilwanu Aikawa has adjourned the hearing of his bail application to March 31 after both the prosecution and defence presented their arguments before the court.