Federal High Court has granted bail to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. El-Rufai, a former governor of Kaduna State, has been under detention by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission, ICPC.
The development was disclosed on Tuesday by political commentator Imran Wakili in a post on X: “Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has been granted bail by the Federal High Court,” Wakili wrote. The former FCT Minister is undergoing trial for alleged corrupt practices while serving as the governor of Kaduna State.
During earlier proceedings, journalists were barred from accessing the courtroom, a move that further fuelled speculation about the nature and direction of the trial.
Court insiders had disclosed that the case experienced delays after the prosecution introduced an amended nine-count charge against El-Rufai, significantly restructuring the allegations against him.
Initially filed against El-Rufai and one Amadu Sule, the amended charge dropped Sule as a co-defendant, leaving the former governor as the sole accused.
Confirming the development at the time, El-Rufai’s counsel, Ubong Akpan (SAN), told journalists that the defence team was taken by surprise after the amended charges were served in court without prior notice.
“The charges are entirely new to us. They were given to us this morning while we were already in court. That is why the matter could not proceed,” Akpan had said.
Justice Darius Khobo subsequently adjourned the matter to April 14, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application, which has now resulted in the Federal High Court granting El-Rufai bail.
The charges against the former governor are wide-ranging and stem from his tenure in office. Among the allegations is that he induced the Kaduna State Government to release about N11 billion to an unregistered entity for a light rail project that was never executed.
The ICPC also accused him of approving and receiving about N289.8 million as severance allowance—far above the legally permitted amount—thereby conferring a corrupt advantage on himself.