Bail: Appeal Court Hears El-Rufai, ICPC Arguments, Reserves Judgement

The Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna has reserved judgement on an appeal filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, challenging the refusal of his bail application by the Kaduna State High Court.

The appellate court reserved judgement on Tuesday after hearing arguments from lawyers representing El-Rufai and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

The presiding judge, Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi, however, did not announce a date for the delivery of the judgement.

During the proceedings, counsel to the ICPC, Ayodeji Adedipe, urged the court to dismiss the appeal, arguing that the lower court was right to reject El-Rufai’s application for bail.

Adedipe told the court that the former governor had filed three separate bail applications before the Kaduna State High Court, all of which were refused.

According to him, the first application was dismissed, while the second was rejected after El-Rufai allegedly failed to establish exceptional circumstances to justify filing another application.

He said the third bail application was subsequently filed and also dismissed by the trial court, but that El-Rufai chose to appeal against the ruling on the second application.

The ICPC counsel argued that the appellant failed to disclose to the Court of Appeal that his third bail application had also been rejected by the lower court.

He therefore urged the appellate court to dismiss the appeal for lacking merit.

However, counsel to El-Rufai, Paul Erokoro, SAN, urged the court to set aside the decision of the lower court and grant his client bail pending the determination of the charges against him.

Erokoro argued that the offences for which the former governor was charged were bailable and did not attract capital punishment, insisting that there was no sufficient justification for keeping him in custody.

The senior lawyer maintained that bail was a constitutional right except in cases involving capital offences.

He further argued that El-Rufai’s continued detention in ICPC custody was making it difficult for him to adequately prepare his defence, particularly by limiting his access to lawyers and potential witnesses.

Erokoro also raised concerns about confidential communication between his client and members of his legal team, saying the circumstances of his detention could affect the preparation of his defence.

The lawyer described El-Rufai as a prominent opposition figure and argued that the timing of the criminal charges, coming close to an election, was a matter that should also be considered by the court.

He expressed confidence that the Court of Appeal would overturn the decision of the Kaduna State High Court and grant the former governor bail.

After listening to submissions from both parties, Justice Otisi reserved judgement on the appeal without fixing a date for its delivery.