In continuation of the corruption allegations against former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), proceedings resumed on Wednesday before Justice Darius Khobo of the High Court in Kaduna State.
The proceedings focused on the fresh application filed by the defence, seeking the recusal of the trial judge from the case.
Lead defence counsel, Paul Erokoro, SAN, argued that the application does not in any way accuse the court of bias. Rather, he said the application is based on the likelihood of perceived bias in the future conduct of the substantive trial.
According to Erokoro, “We urge the court to grant the application and pronounce one of the alternative reliefs sought by the applicant.
“First, the applicant has not accused this court of bias. He never made such an allegation against the court. Rather, he only stated that the court considered a counter-affidavit against him and, as a result, fears that the court may likely be biased in the future proceedings.
“We are also not relying on the applicant’s notice of appeal. That issue was raised in the earlier application, which has since been withdrawn because it is no longer being relied upon. There is also no evidence before this court that the appeal has been entered before the Court of Appeal. Therefore, this court has full jurisdiction to determine this application,” Erokoro argued.
Why the Court Should Dismiss the Application
However, counsel to the ICPC, Dr Ayodeji Adedipe, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the application, describing it as an abuse of court process.
He argued that the application was an afterthought and an attempt to delay the proceedings and waste the court’s time.
The prosecution further argued that the defendant’s conduct following the court’s ruling of June 10, 2026, demonstrated confidence in the trial judge.
According to the prosecution, after the ruling was delivered, the defendant accepted the court’s decision by filing another application for bail on health grounds six days later, specifically on June 16, 2026.
The prosecution submitted that the defendant continued to participate in the proceedings before the same judge and, even after the court dismissed three subsequent applications on June 29, 2026, did not raise any allegation or apprehension of bias.
It further argued that although the defendant filed a notice of appeal against the June 10 ruling, he did not file a notice withdrawing the appeal before bringing the fresh application for the judge’s recusal.
The prosecution maintained that if the Court of Appeal finds merit in the appeal, it has the power to direct that the case be transferred to another judge. It therefore argued that the recusal application is unnecessary and should be dismissed.
After hearing submissions from both the prosecution and the defence, Justice Darius Khobo adjourned the matter until September 24, 2026, for ruling on the application, noting that the date was fixed in view of the court’s annual judicial vacation.