A Federal High Court sitting in Kaduna has fixed June 1, 2026, for the hearing of two pre-trial motions filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in an alleged corruption case instituted against him by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

The trial judge, Justice Rilwanu Aikawa, adjourned the matter on Thursday after defence counsel, Mustapha Abubakar (SAN), informed the court that he was not ready to move the applications.

El-Rufai is facing allegations of financial misconduct, including claims that he authorised the release of billions of naira belonging to Kaduna State for projects allegedly left unexecuted during his administration. The former governor has, however, denied all allegations.

The court had earlier adjourned proceedings from Wednesday to Thursday for a ruling on applications seeking a variation of the bail conditions granted to the defendant.

Justice Aikawa had, on April 14, admitted El-Rufai to bail in the sum of N200 million with two sureties in like sum. The court also ordered that he remain in ICPC custody pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions.

As part of the bail terms, one surety must be a senior civil servant not below Grade Level 15, while the second must be a recognised elder in the state. The court further directed the sureties to deposit their international passports and restrained the defendant from making public comments on the case pending its determination.

In his ruling on Thursday, the judge declined the request for the first surety to provide a bank guarantee of N200 million in place of a cash deposit.

However, the court granted a variation allowing the second surety to be recognised by a district head instead of the Kaduna State Council of Elders, as previously ordered.

Defence counsel also drew the court’s attention to two motions seeking to strike out certain documents attached to the charges filed by the ICPC.

The matter was subsequently adjourned to 1:00 p.m. on June 1 for the hearing of the motions.