The High Court of Kaduna State has dismissed the third bail application filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, in the ongoing criminal proceedings instituted against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
Justice D. H. Khobo delivered the ruling on June 29, 2026, after considering the former governor’s fresh request for bail on medical grounds.
El-Rufai had relied on a medical report marked as Exhibit “A”, which was said to have been issued by the National Hospital, Abuja.
The report allegedly stated that he had been diagnosed with advanced metastatic prostate cancer requiring specialised treatment said to be unavailable in Nigeria.
However, the ICPC opposed the application and presented documentary evidence from the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Abuja, Professor Muhammad Raji Mahmud, disowning the medical report.
According to the hospital, a comprehensive search of its electronic medical records and patient indexes showed no hospital number, patient file, billing record, consultation history or evidence that El-Rufai had ever been treated at the facility.
The hospital also stated that the report was issued without the knowledge or authorisation of its management.
Relying on the evidence, Justice Khobo held that the credibility and reliability of the medical report had been fundamentally undermined.
The court ruled that a document formally disowned by the institution on whose letterhead it was allegedly issued could not serve as the basis for the exceptional relief of bail on medical grounds.
The judge held that with the evidential foundation of the application having collapsed, there were no reliable and institutionally validated facts before the court to justify the exercise of discretion in favour of El-Rufai.
The court therefore refused the application.
However, Justice Khobo ordered the ICPC to continue granting El-Rufai unrestricted access to his personal medical practitioners.
The court also directed the commission to ensure that he is escorted to any specialised diagnostic or clinical facility of his choice within Nigeria whenever required during the pendency of the trial.
Reacting to the ruling, the ICPC said the decision reaffirmed the principle that applications for bail on medical grounds must be supported by credible and verifiable evidence.
In a statement signed by its Spokesperson and Head of Media and Public Communications, J. Okor Odey, the commission said it would continue to conduct its investigations and prosecutions with professionalism, fairness and respect for the rule of law.
The commission also said it remained committed to ensuring that every person brought before the courts is accorded all rights guaranteed under the Constitution and other applicable laws.
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