Malam Nasir El-Rufai will remain in detention after the Federal High Court in Kaduna adjourned ruling on his bail application to April 14, 2026. The decision was delivered by Justice Rilwan M. Aikawa during a court session on Wednesday. El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, is facing charges of alleged corruption brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). His legal team had filed an application seeking his release on bail pending the conclusion of trial proceedings.
The court did not give reasons for the lengthy adjournment of the ruling. El-Rufai has been in custody since his arrest earlier this month. The EFCC alleges he is connected to financial improprieties involving public funds during his tenure as governor. No trial dates have been set beyond the bail ruling.
A two-year wait for a bail ruling is not justice moving at a glacial pace — it is justice weaponised through delay. For El-Rufai, a prominent political figure, the extended detention without trial sets a precedent that could just as easily be applied to less visible Nigerians. When courts take longer to decide on bail than some criminal trials last, the presumption of innocence becomes a legal fiction. This moment does not reflect a broken system — it reveals one functioning exactly as designed.
