A Kaduna State High Court has dismissed another bail application filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, in an ongoing criminal case instituted against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The ruling was delivered on June 29, 2026, by Justice D. H. Khobo, who declined the former governor’s third application for bail, which was based on medical grounds.
According to a statement issued by the ICPC spokesperson and Head of Media and Public Communications, J. Okor Odey, the court considered the credibility of a medical report submitted by El-Rufai in support of his request for bail.
The report, which was attached to the application as Exhibit “A” and allegedly issued by the National Hospital Abuja, claimed that the former governor had been diagnosed with advanced metastatic prostate cancer requiring specialised treatment not available 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 relied upon by the defendant.
According to the commission, the hospital management conducted a comprehensive search of its electronic medical records and patient database but found no hospital number, patient file, billing record, consultation history or any evidence indicating that El-Rufai had ever been treated at the facility.
The hospital further stated that the report was issued without the knowledge or authorisation of its management.
Based on the evidence before it, the court held that the credibility and reliability of the medical report had been fundamentally undermined.
Justice Khobo ruled that a document formally disowned by the institution on whose letterhead it was purportedly issued could not serve as a basis for granting exceptional relief such as bail on medical grounds.
The court consequently found that there were no reliable and verifiable facts to justify exercising judicial discretion in favour of the applicant.
Despite rejecting the bail application, the court directed the ICPC to continue granting El-Rufai unrestricted access to his personal medical doctors and to ensure he is escorted to any specialised diagnostic or medical facility of his choice within Nigeria whenever necessary during the trial.
The ICPC stated that the directive aligns with its existing practice and reaffirmed its commitment to complying fully with the court order.
The anti-corruption commission welcomed the ruling, describing it as a reaffirmation that bail applications based on medical grounds must be supported by credible and verifiable evidence and determined strictly according to the law.
The commission further reiterated its commitment to conducting investigations and prosecutions professionally, fairly and in accordance with the rule of law while respecting the constitutional rights of all defendants.