A Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has granted bail to former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, subject to the fulfilment of a N200 million bond with two sureties.
The court, presided over by Justice Rilwan M. Aikawa, ordered that El-Rufai remain in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) until all bail conditions are met.
Speaking to journalists after the court session, El-Rufai’s son, Bello, disclosed that the bail conditions include the provision of a N200 million bond with two sureties in like sum, and that the sureties must include a recognised traditional ruler and a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 15.
Bello added that the conditions also require the submission of landed property documents, the deposit of international passports with the court, and a restriction preventing the former governor from making public comments related to the case. El-Rufai is also expected to make himself available for all court proceedings.
“The conditions are many, close to 10 or more, but we hope to fulfil them,” Bello said.
The court had, on April 1, 2026, adjourned hearing of the bail application to April 14, 2026. On the adjourned date, El-Rufai was escorted from the court premises by ICPC operatives in a white Hilux vehicle.
Meanwhile, the former governor is also facing a separate trial before a Kaduna State High Court sitting in Kawo, where he was arraigned alongside one Amadu Sule on charges including abuse of office, fraud, intent to commit fraud, and conferring undue advantage.
The charges before the State High Court, also instituted by the ICPC, are separate from those being heard at the Federal High Court. Following proceedings at the State High Court, El-Rufai was subsequently transferred to the Federal High Court within the same vicinity.
The Kaduna State High Court has, however, adjourned ruling on El-Rufai’s bail application to Tuesday, April 21, 2026, following the inability of the trial judge, Darius Khobo, to deliver the ruling as earlier scheduled.
The ICPC had, on March 18, 2026, arraigned El-Rufai alongside Amadu Sule, Managing Director of TMDK Terminal Limited, before the Kaduna State High Court under charge number KDH/KAD/ICPC/01/26, on charges ranging from abuse of office and fraud to intent to commit fraud and conferring undue advantage, among others.
The prosecution, however, amended the charges on Monday and dropped Sule from the case, narrowing the trial to El-Rufai alone.
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Speaking to journalists shortly after the adjournment, counsel to the former governor, Ubong Akpan, said the development was due to circumstances beyond the court’s control, noting that the presiding judge was bereaved and could not finalise the ruling on the bail motion.
“His lordship was bereaved and he was unable to put the ruling together. So, we understand these things happen,” Akpan said.
He expressed cautious optimism ahead of the rescheduled ruling, adding that the defence would await the new date.
“So the ruling has been adjourned to Tuesday next week. The ruling on the motion for bail. So, fingers crossed,” he stated.
Akpan, however, took a swipe at the ICPC, accusing the commission of pursuing multiple charges against his client in what he described as phased litigation, noting that proceedings had since extended to the Federal High Court in a parallel case.
Shortly after the Kaduna High Court session, El-Rufai was moved to the Federal High Court, where he was arraigned on a separate 10-count charge before Justice Aikawa, who had earlier fixed April 14 for ruling on the bail application in the federal case.