Journalists were on Tuesday denied access to proceedings at the Federal High Court in Kaduna, where former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, appeared for the hearing of an alleged corruption case instituted against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Following the session, both prosecution and defence counsel declined to address the media.

During the proceedings, defence counsel, Ukpon Akpan, filed a motion urging the presiding judge, Justice Rilwan Aikawa, to recuse himself from the case, citing allegations of bias and a pending petition. However, the defence subsequently withdrew the application through a separate motion filed before the court.

The bail hearing could not proceed as scheduled, as the prosecution had only just filed its counter-affidavit in opposition to the bail application.

Consequently, Justice Aikawa adjourned the matter to Wednesday, April 1, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application.

Meanwhile, a related case filed by the ICPC at the Kaduna State High Court was also adjourned to April 10 for further proceedings.