ICPC Takes El-Rufai into Custody as Bail Hearing Adjourned

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was on Tuesday returned to the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission after proceedings on his bail application were stalled at the Federal High Court in Kaduna.

The court adjourned the hearing until Wednesday, April 1, 2026, following a series of legal exchanges between the prosecution and defence.

At the session before Justice Rilwan Aikawa, the prosecution filed its counter-affidavit to the bail application, leaving the defence with limited time to respond. The defence had earlier filed a motion seeking the judge’s recusal over allegations of bias and a pending petition, but later filed another motion to withdraw the request. The back-and-forth delayed the bail hearing, prompting the adjournment.

Security was tight around the court premises, with journalists barred from entering the courtroom. Operatives of the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police Force, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps were deployed in large numbers, while vehicular movement around the Ungwan Sarki–Kawo axis was restricted, causing traffic congestion.

Shortly after the session, El-Rufai was escorted out of the premises in a white Hilux vehicle by ICPC operatives.

Earlier in the day, the former governor had been arraigned before a Kaduna State High Court in Kawo alongside one Amadu Sule on separate charges bordering on abuse of office, fraud, and conferring undue advantage. That court adjourned the matter until April 10 for further hearing.

El-Rufai is standing trial before the Federal High Court on a 10-count charge filed by the ICPC, including alleged conversion and possession of public property, money laundering, and receiving N289,826,998.12 as severance allowance far above his legitimate entitlement of about N20 million. The anti-graft agency also alleged that he received $797,900 through multiple deposits into his domiciliary account, said to be proceeds of unlawful activities.

In a related development, El-Rufai on Tuesday withdrew a fundamental rights enforcement suit he had filed against a magistrate in Abuja. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, sought N1 billion in damages and challenged the legality of a search conducted at his Asokoro residence on February 19, 2026.

At the resumed hearing before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, his counsel informed the court of a motion to discontinue the case against the magistrate, which was not opposed by the respondents. The judge struck out the magistrate’s name and an ex parte motion, and adjourned the matter until June 17 to allow the plaintiff to file amended processes.

The former governor had spent over a month in detention before his arraignment but was released on compassionate grounds on March 27 following the death of his mother in Cairo, Egypt.