The Court of Appeal recently dismissed an appeal filed by former Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, challenging the decision of the Kaduna State High Court to deny him bail.
Delivering its judgment in Appeal Number CA/K/254C/2026, the appellate court affirmed the ruling of the lower court, holding that the trial judge exercised his discretion judicially and judiciously, without any miscarriage of justice.
According to the lead judgment delivered by Justice Onyekachi Aja-Otisi, the court affirmed the ruling of the lower court, which refused the former governor’s second bail application on June 10.
The development came days after Justice Darious Khobo of the Kaduna State High Court rejected El-Rufai’s bail and recusal applications.
El-Rufai, who has been in ICPC detention since February 18, is being prosecuted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for corruption during his tenure as governor.
He is also facing trial for wiretapping allegations of the phone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The former Kaduna State governor has pleaded not guilty to all charges, maintaining that his prosecution is politically-motivated.
He was granted stringent bail conditions that have made it difficult for him to fulfill.
Even though many have argued that it remains at the discretion of the judges to grant any defendant bail, others believe that the charges against him are bailable offences and do not deserve indefinite detention.
This is why it is surprising to his supporters that the Court of Appeal also denied him bail.
Many who thought the appellate court would grant him bail, are disappointed.
There are a litany of cases where the High Court refused to grant a defendant bail and the Court of Appeal reversed the decision. It is always expected that as a case climb judicial ladder, whatever the High Court did not see, would be corrected by the Court of Appeal. But this has not the case here.
Now that the court has equally refused to reverse the lower court’s decision, what are the other options left for the former governor? Will he go to the Supreme Court?