The Court of Appeal sitting in Kaduna has reserved judgement in an appeal filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, challenging the decision of the Kaduna State High Court to deny him bail.

The appellate court reserved judgement after hearing submissions from lawyers representing El-Rufai and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Presiding over the matter, Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi, said the court would deliver its decision at a later date, although no date was fixed.

Counsel to the ICPC, Ayodeji Adedipe, urged the court to uphold the decision of the lower court and dismiss El-Rufai’s appeal.

Adedipe told the court that El-Rufai had made three separate applications for bail before the High Court, all of which were unsuccessful.

He explained that the first application was dismissed, while the second was rejected after the former governor failed to establish any exceptional circumstance that would justify a fresh bail request.

According to him, the third application was also dismissed by the trial court, but El-Rufai appealed the ruling on the second application.

The ICPC lawyer argued that the appellant failed to inform the Court of Appeal that his subsequent bail application had equally been rejected.

He consequently described the appeal as lacking merit and asked the appellate court to dismiss it.

However, El-Rufai’s counsel, Paul Erokoro, SAN, urged the court to set aside the High Court’s ruling and grant his client bail pending the determination of the charges against him.

Erokoro argued that the offences for which the former governor was charged were bailable and did not attract the death penalty.

He maintained that bail was a constitutional right in cases that did not involve capital offences and argued that continued detention in ICPC custody was hampering El-Rufai’s ability to properly prepare his defence.

The senior lawyer said his client’s detention had also restricted his access to his legal team and potential witnesses, potentially affecting confidential communication and the preparation of his case.

Erokoro further argued that El-Rufai was a prominent opposition figure and suggested that the timing of the criminal charges, coming close to an election, warranted consideration by the court.

He expressed confidence that the Court of Appeal would overturn the High Court’s decision and grant the former governor bail.

After considering the submissions from both parties, the appellate court reserved judgement without announcing a date for its delivery.