By Joy Yesufu
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has opposed a bail application filed on medical grounds by Jimi Lawal, the second defendant in an 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, while the substantive case was fixed for December 8.
ICPC prosecution counsel, Ibrahim Mukhtar, disclosed this to journalists after Wednesday’s proceedings, saying the commission had filed a counter-affidavit opposing the application.
“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.
Lawal’s counsel had urged the court to grant him bail on medical grounds, arguing that his health condition warranted his release. The defence also contended that the prosecution should not oppose the request, having previously granted him administrative bail.
However, the prosecution sought additional time to study a further affidavit filed by the defence in response to its counter-affidavit.
Counsel to El-Rufai, Mustapha Abubakar, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the prosecution informed the court that it needed time to familiarise itself with the latest processes served by the defence.
Abubakar said the former governor’s new legal team also supported the adjournment to enable it to take over the case from 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.
He explained that Lawal’s defence agreed to the adjournment in the interest of fair hearing, although the bail application had already been moved.
Abubakar said the prosecution’s counter-affidavit and the defence’s further affidavit were before the court, adding that the latter was filed and served on Wednesday.
Mukhtar said the charges against the defendants comprised about seven counts bordering on alleged financial misconduct. He, however, stressed that the trial had yet to commence and that no witnesses had been presented.
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 in a separate case before the Kaduna State High Court.
The court is expected to hear Lawal’s bail application on Friday, while proceedings in the substantive case are scheduled to resume on December 8.
The allegations against both defendants remain before the court, and they are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
