Court rejects El-Rufai’s bail application over medical report

The bail application filed by former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai in the ongoing criminal proceedings instituted against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) before the High Court of Kaduna State on medical grounds was dismissed on Thursday.

The bail application, the third to be filed before Justice D. H. Khobo by El-Rufai was dismissed after the medical report presented by the former governor was disowned by the purported issuer, National Hospital Abuja.

The medical report, annexed to the application as Exhibit “A” and 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.

However, the ICPC presented documentary evidence from the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Abuja, Professor Muhammad Raji Mahmud, disclaiming the medical report.

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 that evidentiary foundation, the Court found no reliable and institutionally validated material facts to justify the exercise of judicial discretion in favour of bail for El-Rufai on health grounds.

In refusing the application, the Court also ordered that the Commission shall continue to provide El-Rufai unrestricted access to his personal medical physicians and shall ensure that he is escorted to any specialized diagnostic or clinical facility of his choice within Nigeria as required, throughout the pendency of the trial.

The Commission notes that this order is consistent with its existing practice and reaffirms its commitment to full compliance.

The ICPC said it welcomed the Court’s ruling as a reaffirmation of the principle that applications for bail on medical grounds must be supported by credible and verifiable evidence and determined strictly in accordance with the law.

The Commission added that it remains committed to conducting all investigations and prosecutions with professionalism, fairness and respect for the rule of law, while ensuring that every person brought before the courts is accorded all rights guaranteed under the Constitution and other applicable laws.