By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Federal High Court in Kaduna has adjourned the hearing on the bail application filed by the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, to March 31.
The court adjourned the hearing after proceedings on Tuesday, March 24, when El-Rufai was brought before it over charges bordering on conversion of and possession of public property and money laundering.
The charges were preferred against the former governor by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
El-Rufai was brought to court by security operatives at about 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday in a Hilux vehicle amid tight security, as security operatives were stationed in and around the court premises ahead of the hearing.
During the proceedings, counsel to El-Rufai, Ukpon Akpan, asked the court to grant bail to his client, citing the former governor’s constitutional rights, and to allow him to prepare for his defence.
This was rejected by the prosecution counsel, who argued that the charges brought against the former governor are serious, adding that granting him bail could interfere with the commission’s investigation.
El-Rufai has been in the custody of the ICPC since February 19, following his release by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), amid calls for his release or arraignment.
The former governor’s family earlier decried that the ICPC failed to charge him and has not secured any fresh detention order, describing his continued detention as “unlawful, brazen self-help.”
In a pre-action notice on March 4, El-Rufai’s legal team accused the ICPC of contempt of court, malicious prosecution, defamation, abuse of office, forgery and unlawful detention.
The legal team also separately served notice of a N15.6 billion damages claim on the ICPC, its chairman and other officials, describing a press statement issued by the commission on March 2 as defamatory and misleading.
The ICPC is investigating multiple corruption allegations against El-Rufai, including the whereabouts of €1.4 million, suspicious payments totalling over N2.1 billion and transfers to undisclosed accounts amounting to more than N428 million.
