A Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna on Thursday fixed June 1, 2026, for the hearing of two pre-trial motions filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in the corruption case instituted against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
The court, presided over by Justice Rilwanu Aikawa, adjourned the matter after counsel for the former governor, Mustapha Abubakar (SAN), informed the court that he was not ready to move the applications immediately.
El-Rufai is facing allegations of financial misconduct, including the alleged release of billions of naira belonging to Kaduna State for projects said to have remained unexecuted during his administration.
The former governor, however, denied all the allegations.
The court had earlier, on Wednesday, adjourned proceedings until Thursday for a ruling on applications seeking a variation of some of the bail conditions earlier granted to the defendant.
Justice Aikawa had, on April 14, admitted El-Rufai to bail in the sum of N200 million with two sureties in like sum.
The court also ordered that the former governor remain in ICPC custody pending the perfection of the bail conditions.
According to the conditions, one of the sureties must be a senior civil servant not below Grade Level 15, while the second must be a recognised elder in the state.
The court further directed the sureties to deposit their international passports and restrained the former governor from making public comments on the matter pending the determination of the case.
Ruling on the application for variation of the bail conditions on Thursday, Justice Aikawa declined the defendant’s request seeking permission for the first surety to provide a bank guarantee of N200 million instead of a cash deposit.
The judge, however, granted the application seeking a variation allowing the second surety to be recognised by a district head instead of the Kaduna State Council of Elders, as earlier ordered.
Abubakar also drew the attention of the court to two motions earlier filed by the defence seeking to strike out some documents attached to the charges preferred against the former governor by the ICPC.
The court subsequently adjourned until 1 p.m. on June 1 for the hearing of the motions.
The anti-graft agency had accused El-Rufai of authorising payments running into billions of naira for projects allegedly not executed during his tenure as governor.
The case has continued to generate public interest given El-Rufai’s prominent role in national politics and his recent criticisms of the administration of his successor in Kaduna State.
