A fresh bail application filed by the immediate past Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has been dismissed by a Kaduna State High Court.
The dismissal followed the rejection of the medical report he relied upon as lacking credibility after the purported issuing hospital disowned it.
Justice Darius Khobo, in a considered ruling delivered on June 29, refused the former governor’s third bail application, which was predicated on medical grounds in the ongoing criminal proceedings instituted against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The court held that the evidential basis of the application collapsed after the medical report tendered by El-Rufai was formally repudiated by the management of the National Hospital, Abuja.
According to a statement issued yesterday by the ICPC, the report, attached to the application as Exhibit ‘A’, purportedly stated that the former governor had been diagnosed with advanced metastatic prostate cancer requiring specialised treatment allegedly unavailable anywhere in Nigeria.
However, opposing the application, the ICPC tendered documentary evidence from the Chief Medical Director of the National Hospital, Abuja, Prof Muhammad Raji Mahmud, denying that the hospital issued the report.
According to the commission, the hospital conducted a comprehensive search of its electronic medical records and patient indexes and found no hospital number, patient file, billing record, consultation history or any evidence showing that El-Rufai had ever been treated at the facility.
The hospital further stated that the report was issued without the knowledge or authorisation of its management, thereby casting serious doubt on its authenticity.
Justice Khobo consequently held that a document formally disowned by the institution on whose letterhead it was purportedly issued could not form the basis for granting the exceptional relief of bail on medical grounds.
The judge ruled that with the credibility of the medical report fundamentally undermined, there were no reliable and institutionally verified facts before the court to warrant the exercise of its discretion in favour of the defendant.
Despite refusing the application, the court directed the ICPC to continue granting El-Rufai unrestricted access to his personal medical doctors throughout the pendency of the trial.
The court also ordered that the commission should escort the defendant to any specialised diagnostic or clinical facility of his choice within Nigeria whenever the need arises.
Reacting to the ruling, the ICPC said the court’s decision reaffirmed the principle that applications for bail on medical grounds must be supported by credible, verifiable and authentic evidence.
The commission added that it remained committed to conducting its investigations and prosecutions professionally and fairly, while respecting the constitutional rights of all persons standing trial before the courts.