The Federal High Court has granted bail to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who has been standing trial over corruption-related charges filed by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Details of the bail conditions were yet to be disclosed at the time of filing this report.
The ruling comes shortly after El-Rufai appeared before the Kaduna State High Court on Tuesday, where proceedings continued in a separate but related case involving amended charges brought by the anti-graft agency.
El-Rufai had earlier arrived the court under heavy security as attention intensified around the high-profile trial. Journalists were reportedly restricted from accessing the courtroom during earlier sessions, adding to public interest in the proceedings.
The case had experienced delays after the prosecution introduced an amended nine-count charge, which reshaped the allegations and dropped an initial co-defendant, leaving the former governor as the sole accused person.
His defence counsel, Ubong Akpan (SAN), had previously told journalists that the amended charges came as a surprise to the defence team, who said they were served in court without prior notice.
El-Rufai is facing multiple allegations arising from his time in office, including claims of diversion of public funds, abuse of office, and procurement violations.
Among them is an allegation that about N11 billion was released for a light rail project that was never executed, as well as claims of irregular severance payments and mismanagement of World Bank loan funds.
He has consistently denied all allegations.
In a separate proceeding at the Federal High Court, the former governor is also facing additional charges bordering on money laundering and alleged conversion of public property.
The court is expected to release full details of the bail conditions as proceedings continue.