The Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna has upheld the decision of the Kaduna State High Court to deny former governor Nasir El-Rufai bail, ruling that he failed to establish new facts or exceptional circumstances sufficient to justify overturning the earlier decision.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on Thursday, October 8, 2026, the three-member appellate panel dismissed the appeal, identified as CA/K/254C/2026, and affirmed the lower court’s June 10 ruling rejecting El-Rufai’s second bail application. The judgment was led by Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi, with Justices Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo and Lateef Ganiyu concurring. Source: Premium Times
The appellate court held that the trial judge exercised judicial discretion appropriately after considering the affidavit evidence submitted by both the prosecution and the defence.
Delivering the lead judgment, Otisi declared that the appeal lacked merit and affirmed the High Court’s decision.
The court maintained that an appellate court should not interfere with a lower court’s findings unless there is sufficient evidence that the decision was wrong or resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
The panel consequently resolved the central issue in the appeal against El-Rufai and in favour of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It also struck out a reply brief filed by the appellant on September 29, describing the document as incompetent.
El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna State between 2015 and 2023, is facing prosecution by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged financial misconduct linked to his administration.
During the bail proceedings, the prosecution opposed his release, arguing that certain public statements attributed to the former governor raised concerns about possible interference with the administration of justice.
The ICPC also reportedly relied on an interview El-Rufai granted Arise Television on April 26, 2026, during which it alleged that he admitted to intercepting the telephone communications of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
The allegations form part of separate legal proceedings and have not, by themselves, established his guilt. El-Rufai has denied wrongdoing and continues to challenge aspects of the proceedings against him.
Another issue considered by the appellate court was El-Rufai’s argument that his return to custody after attending the burial of his late mother demonstrated that he was not a flight risk.
His legal team relied on photographs said to show him attending funeral prayers at the National Mosque in Abuja.
However, the court noted that the photographs were referred to in his affidavit but had not been attached to the application placed before the trial court. It held that the trial judge could not be faulted for failing to rely on evidence that was not properly presented.
The appellate panel also considered the prosecution’s position that security personnel accompanied and monitored the former governor during the burial period. It therefore found insufficient grounds to conclude that his return to custody, on its own, warranted a different bail decision.
Justice Otisi emphasised that courts must base their decisions on evidence properly placed before them rather than speculation or conjecture.
Despite dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal stressed that its decision concerned bail and did not amount to a determination of the criminal allegations against El-Rufai.
Otisi reaffirmed that the former governor remains presumed innocent until proven guilty in accordance with the law.
The distinction is significant because the refusal of bail does not constitute a conviction; the prosecution must still establish its case through the criminal trial.
Accelerated Trial to Continue
The appellate court also upheld the lower court’s directive for an accelerated hearing, with proceedings to continue on a day-to-day basis as far as practicable.
It found no sufficient evidence that the prosecution had failed to pursue the case diligently. However, the court indicated that El-Rufai could return to the trial court to seek further consideration of his bail if the prosecution subsequently failed to prosecute the matter with the required diligence.
The decision follows several unsuccessful attempts by the former governor to secure release from custody. In June 2026, the Kaduna State High Court also rejected a separate bail application reportedly based on medical grounds, citing concerns over the credibility of the medical documentation presented in that application. Source: ICPC
For now, the Court of Appeal’s latest ruling leaves the June 10 bail decision intact, while the substantive criminal proceedings remain to be determined.
El-Rufai’s continued detention and the allegations against him remain matters subject to the applicable judicial process, with the courts yet to determine his guilt or innocence in the substantive cases.