The Kaduna State High Court has adjourned the bail hearing of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai to the first week of June 2026, prolonging the legal uncertainty surrounding the detained former governor’s bid for pre-trial freedom.
Trial Judge Darius Khobo announced the postponement on Tuesday, as El-Rufai arrived in court alongside operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Department of State Services.
El-Rufai’s counsel, Ukpon Akpan, expressed frustration with the repeated adjournments after the court session, describing the pattern as politically motivated and calling it a deliberate obstruction of his client’s right to a timely hearing.
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The latest postponement comes after Judge Khobo had on April 14 adjourned the verdict on the bail application to April 21 — only to push it further to June on Tuesday.
El-Rufai was arraigned at the Kaduna State High Court on April 13 by the ICPC on an amended nine-count charge bordering on alleged fraud and abuse of office. The anti-graft agency removed a co-defendant, Amadu Sule, from the amended case.
In a separate criminal charge at the Federal High Court in Kaduna, the former minister has been granted N200 million bail by Justice Rilwanu Aikawa.
El-Rufai has remained in ICPC custody since February 19, following his release by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
He was briefly released on compassionate grounds on March 27 to attend the burial of his mother, who passed away that same day, before being returned to custody.
