By Ikugbadi Oluwasegun
The High Court of Kaduna State has again dismissed an application for bail filed by the former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, in the ongoing criminal proceedings instituted against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Justice Dairus Khobo gave the ruling on the defendant’s third application for bail, this time on medical grounds.
The Court this time examined the medical report relied upon by Mallam El-Rufai in support of his application.
The report purportedly issued by the National Hospital, Abuja, claimed that the former governor had been diagnosed with an advanced metastatic prostate cancer requiring a specialised treatment said to be unavailable anywhere in Nigeria.
In opposing the application, the ICPC presented documentary evidence from the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Abuja, Professor Muhammad Raji Mahmud, disclaiming the document relied upon by the defendant.
According to the document from the National Hospital issued by the Chief Medical Director, a comprehensive search of the hospital’s electronic medical records and patient indexes revealed no hospital number, patient file, billing record, consultation history, or any evidence that the defendant had ever been treated at the facility.
The hospital further confirmed that the report was issued without the knowledge or authorisation of its management.
Relying on this evidence, the Court held that the credibility and reliability of the medical report had been fundamentally undermined, and that a document formally disowned by the very institution on whose letterhead it was issued could not serve as the foundation for the exceptional relief sought by the applicant.
With the collapse of evidentiary foundation, the Court found no reliable and institutionally validated material facts to justify the exercise of judicial discretion in favour of bail on health grounds.
The court thereby refused the application and ordered that the Commission shall continue to provide the defendant with unrestricted access to his personal medical physicians and shall ensure that he is escorted to any specialised diagnostic or clinical facility of his choice within Nigeria as required, throughout the pendency of the trial.
