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BREKING: Court Grants El-Rufai N100m Bail, Orders Monthly DSS Reporting
The judge held that the surety must be a resident of Abuja’s highbrow Maitama or Asokoro districts and must deposit the original Certificate of Occupancy of a landed property with the court registry.
Abuja, Nigeria– The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in the sum of N100 million, imposing a raft of stringent conditions.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, the court ordered that the former governor must provide one surety in like sum, with strict eligibility criteria that significantly narrow the pool of potential guarantors.
The judge held that the surety must be a resident of Abuja’s highbrow Maitama or Asokoro districts and must deposit the original Certificate of Occupancy of a landed property with the court registry.
In addition, the surety is required to be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 17, with verifiable evidence of salary payments for at least three months.
Meanwhile, the court directed that all submitted documents be authenticated by a letter from the surety’s bank manager within the jurisdiction of the court.
The surety must also depose to an affidavit of means, enter into a bail bond, and submit a recent passport photograph.
As part of the bail conditions, El-Rufai is to surrender all valid international passports to the court, effectively restricting his movement outside Nigeria.
The court ordered the defendant to report to the headquarters of the Department of State Services (DSS) every last Friday of the month by 10 a.m. to sign an attendance register pending the determination of the case.
Justice Abdulmalik issued a stern warning that any breach of the conditions would trigger an automatic revocation of the bail.
The court also mandated the submission of a verification letter from the surety’s immediate department, alongside a tax clearance certificate covering the last six months.
The judge directed El-Rufai to present a letter of attestation from the Chairman of the Kaduna Traditional Council—an addition that signals the court’s intent to bind the defendant not only legally but also within established traditional authority structures.
