Thursday, October 29, 2026 - The Federal High Court in Lagos has refused a fresh bail application filed by businessman and social media influencer Afolabi Kazeem, popularly known as KC Luxury, who is standing trial over alleged trafficking in 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine and money laundering. Justice Musa Kakaki ruled on Wednesday that the defence had not presented sufficient evidence to establish special circumstances warranting the defendant’s release on medical grounds.
The judge, however, directed the Ikoyi Custodial Centre to
give Kazeem unrestricted access to doctors and medical specialists whenever
necessary. He also ordered an accelerated hearing and fixed November 2, 2026,
for the commencement of trial. “There is no medical certificate to warrant the
court to grant him bail,” Kakaki said.
He added that a claim requiring specialist medical attention
should be supported by an expert’s explanation of the defendant’s condition. At
the previous proceedings last Friday, Kazeem was brought to the court premises
in an ambulance while receiving oxygen.
His lawyer, Emefo Etudo, urged the court to grant bail so
that he could receive specialised treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
Etudo argued that his client’s health had deteriorated and referred to what he
described as a collapse of his lungs, which he said had been disclosed by the
Police Hospital in Falomo.
Prosecution counsel Abu Ibrahim opposed the application,
arguing that the medical evidence did not sufficiently justify Kazeem’s
release. “Your Lordship looked at the application. The ailment is the same. It
is the same asthma. But maybe it has become acute; the character and the
ailment are the same,” Ibrahim said.
He also questioned whether the defence had supplied adequate
medical documentation concerning the treatment available to the defendant. When
proceedings resumed on Wednesday, October 28, Adeleye Akin, a correctional
officer from the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, informed the court that Kazeem
remained at the Police Hospital in Falomo.
Delivering his ruling, Justice Kakaki said he had examined
the application, the court’s records and the submissions made by both sides. He
held that a defendant seeking bail must provide sufficient and cogent evidence
explaining why the court should exercise its discretion in their favour
The judge reviewed medical exhibits previously submitted by
the defence, including documents marked AK5, AK6 and AK8, which he said
contained photographs of a person receiving treatment on a hospital bed. Kakaki
recalled that, in an earlier ruling on October 2, 2026, the court had
considered a medical officer’s recommendation that Kazeem be assessed by a
consultant respiratory physician or pulmonologist.
The recommendation was intended to allow a specialist to
evaluate his condition, optimise treatment and prevent further acute episodes.
However, the judge said it did not establish that Kazeem was suffering from an
untreated illness. “Having gone through the records of the court and compared
the ruling of October 2, 2026, I hereby discountenance all the exhibits,” he
said.
Kakaki also questioned the defence’s submissions concerning
the availability of treatment, noting that the application sought Kazeem’s
release for specialised care at LUTH while raising concerns about whether his
condition could be managed in a Nigerian hospital. The judge further held that
the defence had not demonstrated a change in circumstances sufficient to
justify the fresh bail request.
“However, changes in
the circumstances were not disclosed,” he said. He recalled that the court had
ordered Kazeem’s remand in a custodial centre on October 16, 2026. “There is
inability to show special circumstances to warrant bail. I hereby discountenance
it in the present application,” Kakaki ruled.
The judge said there was nothing preventing correctional
authorities from arranging for a specialist to attend to Kazeem or allowing
access to his own doctor. “There was nothing stopping the Correctional Centre
from calling an expert to attend to the first defendant, or using the first
defendant’s doctor if he had one,” he said.
Formally refusing the application, Kakaki directed that the
criminal proceedings should move forward without delay. “The application is not
granted; bail is refused to the first defendant. The case will proceed to
accelerated hearing. Where there is any health issue, the Correctional Centre
shall give unfettered access to a doctor or expert for his treatment,” he
ordered.
Kazeem is being tried alongside Boniface Freeman Ochoche
Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch over the alleged cocaine trafficking and
money laundering offences. The court adjourned the case until November 2, 2026,
for trial to begin.
0 Comments