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Why Court Rejected El-Rufai’s Medical Bail Request
The High Court of Kaduna State has dismissed a fresh application for bail filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, in the ongoing criminal proceedings brought against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
Justice Dairus Khobo delivered the ruling on the defendant’s third bail application, which was based on medical grounds.
El-Rufai had asked the court to grant him bail, relying on a medical report purportedly issued by the National Hospital Abuja.
The report claimed he had been diagnosed with advanced metastatic prostate cancer requiring specialised treatment that was allegedly unavailable in Nigeria.
However, the ICPC opposed the application, presenting documentary evidence from the hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Professor Muhammad Raji Mahmud, who disowned the medical report.
According to the hospital, a comprehensive search of its electronic medical records and patient database found no hospital number, patient file, consultation history, billing record, or any evidence that El-Rufai had ever received treatment at the facility.
The hospital further stated that the report was issued without the knowledge or authorisation of its management.
In his ruling, Justice Khobo held that the credibility of the medical report had been fundamentally undermined, noting that a document formally disowned by the institution on whose letterhead it was issued could not serve as the basis for granting the exceptional relief of bail on medical grounds.
The court ruled that, with the evidentiary foundation of the application having collapsed, there were no credible or institutionally verified facts to justify the exercise of its discretion in favour of the defendant.
Consequently, the court refused the bail application.
Justice Khobo, however, directed the ICPC to continue providing El-Rufai with unrestricted access to his personal medical doctors and ensure he is escorted to any specialised diagnostic or clinical facility of his choice within Nigeria whenever necessary while his trial continues.
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