A KADUNA State High Court has dismissed the medical bail application filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, after the National Hospital, Abuja, denied issuing the medical report tendered in support of his request.
News Point Nigeria reports that the ruling followed documentary evidence presented by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), in which the National Hospital disowned a medical report claiming the former governor was suffering from advanced metastatic prostate cancer requiring specialised treatment unavailable in Nigeria.
Justice Darius Khobo, who presided over the matter on Monday, dismissed the third bail application filed by el-Rufai in his ongoing trial over a nine-count charge instituted against him by the ICPC.
According to a statement issued by the anti-graft commission, the former governor based his latest application on medical grounds, relying on a report marked as “Exhibit A” and purportedly issued by the National Hospital, Abuja.
The ICPC said the report claimed that el-Rufai had been diagnosed with advanced metastatic prostate cancer and required specialised treatment that could not be obtained anywhere in Nigeria.
During the court proceedings, the commission tendered documentary evidence from the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the National Hospital, Abuja, Muhammad Raji Mahmud.
According to the ICPC, the document from the CMD stated that a search of the hospital’s electronic medical records and patient indexes found no hospital number, patient file, billing record, consultation history, or any evidence that el-Rufai had ever received treatment at the facility.
The commission further quoted the National Hospital as stating that the purported medical report was issued without the knowledge or authorisation of the hospital’s management.
In his ruling, Justice Khobo held that a medical report that had been disowned by the institution purported to have issued it could not form the basis for granting the relief sought by the former governor.
The judge, however, directed the ICPC to ensure that el-Rufai has unrestricted access to his personal physicians and to escort him to any specialised diagnostic or clinical facility of his choice within Nigeria throughout the duration of the trial.
El-Rufai is standing trial on a nine-count charge bordering on the alleged conferment of benefit under false pretences and the dishonest disposal of loan funds.
The former governor pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The court recalled that in April, it had also declined an earlier bail application by el-Rufai, ruling that it was in the interest of justice for him to remain in custody to ensure his availability for trial.
The ICPC is also prosecuting the former Kaduna governor on separate charges before the Federal High Court in Kaduna.
El-Rufai has remained in the custody of the ICPC since February 19 after he was released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He was, however, temporarily released for a few days in March to attend the burial of his mother.