The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has opposed the bail application filed by Jimi Lawal, a co-defendant in the alleged financial misconduct case involving former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
The Federal High Court in Kaduna, presided over by Justice Hauwa’u Buhari, adjourned the hearing of Lawal’s bail application until Friday, October 16, 2026, while the substantive case was fixed for December 8.
ICPC prosecution counsel, Ibrahim Mukhtar, disclosed after Wednesday’s proceedings that the commission had filed a counter-affidavit opposing the bail request.
“We have already filed a counter-affidavit to it. So, we are opposing the application,” Mukhtar said.
He declined to disclose the grounds for the opposition, explaining that the prosecution had yet to present its arguments before the court.
“We have not presented the argument before the court. We are here to move the counter-affidavit, so I’m not commenting on it,” he added.
Lawal’s defence had urged the court to grant him bail on medical grounds, arguing that his health condition justified his release.
The defence also maintained that the prosecution should not oppose the application because the defendant had previously been granted administrative bail.
However, the prosecution requested more time to study a further affidavit filed by the defence in response to its counter-affidavit.
Counsel to El-Rufai, Mustapha Abubakar, SAN, said a new prosecution lawyer had announced his appearance and sought an adjournment to familiarise himself with the case.
Abubakar added that the legal team representing the former governor was also newly appearing in the matter and supported the request to allow it to take over the brief from the previous counsel.
“On the part of the first defendant, we were also coming in as new counsel because he was previously represented by another counsel,” he said.
“We aligned ourselves with the application for adjournment made by the prosecution’s counsel and agreed that the matter be adjourned so that we would also be able to effectively take over the brief from the former counsel.”
Explaining the circumstances surrounding the adjournment, Abubakar said the prosecution needed time to study the latest processes filed by the defence.
“Incidentally, the counter-affidavit that was responded to by way of the further affidavit was filed and served this morning. Hence, the further affidavit came in this afternoon,” he said.
He said the defence agreed to the adjournment in the interest of fair hearing, despite having already moved the bail application.
“But in obedience to the rule of fair hearing, counsel for the second defendant agreed to an adjournment to enable the prosecution to study the processes and be in a position to respond,” Abubakar added.
Mukhtar said the charges against the defendants bordered on alleged financial misconduct and comprised about seven counts.
He, however, stressed that the trial had yet to commence and that no witnesses had been presented before the court.
El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023, appeared at the Federal High Court on Wednesday amid tight security, a day after attending proceedings at the Kaduna State High Court in a separate case.
The former governor and Lawal are facing allegations that remain before the court. Both defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The court is expected to hear Lawal’s bail application on Friday, October 16, while the substantive case is scheduled to commence on December 8.
