•Nurse says KC Luxury can not enter courtroom; NDLEA opposes medical bail, cites flight threat
Wale Igbintade
Businessman and social media influencer, Afolabi Michael Kazeem, popularly often called KC Luxury, was dropped at the Federal High Court in Lagos in an ambulance whereas receiving oxygen on Friday, as his lawyer urged the courtroom to grant him bail for specialised medical therapy over his deteriorating well being.
A nurse attending to the defendant, Bukki Yahya of the Police Hospital, Falomo, Lagos, informed Justice Musa Kakaki that Kazeem couldn’t be moved into the courtroom due to his situation.
Yahya mentioned the defendant was admitted to the hospital on October 7, 2026, and recognized with bronchial asthma and sepsis.
“My Lord, I’m Bukki Yahya, the nurse attending to the affected person, Afolabi. He was recognized with bronchial asthma and sepsis when he was dropped at the Police Hospital, Falomo.
“He is inside the ambulance in the court premises, but we can’t move him here because he is with oxygen,” she informed the courtroom.
The nurse testified after a correctional officer knowledgeable the courtroom that Kazeem was critically ailing and had been hospitalised.
Following the testimony, Kazeem’s counsel, Chief Emefo Etudo, questioned why his shopper had been dropped at courtroom in such a situation.
“If, for instance, the defendant was in the intensive care unit and is like this, why should they bring him to court?” the lawyer requested.
Justice Kakaki subsequently directed that the defendant be returned to the hospital, saying, “You can take him back to the hospital.”
After the courtroom’s directive, Etudo proceeded to argue a recent bail utility dated October 16, 2026, looking for Kazeem’s launch to allow him to acquire specialised medical therapy on the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
The lawyer informed the courtroom that his shopper’s situation had deteriorated, alleging that he had suffered a lung collapse and required specialist medical consideration.
Etudo mentioned the Police Hospital had referred Kazeem to LUTH as a result of it lacked the services required for the surgical administration of his situation.
He additional alleged that the defendant was withdrawn from LUTH and brought to a correctional centre on October 13, regardless of his medical situation.
According to the defence, Kazeem’s situation worsened whereas he was being conveyed to the correctional facility, forcing these accompanying him to return him to the Police Hospital, the place he was admitted to the intensive care unit.
Etudo argued that the alleged deterioration in his shopper’s well being and the circumstances surrounding his removing from LUTH constituted recent grounds for the courtroom to rethink his continued detention and grant him bail.
He mentioned the defence had filed an affidavit of urgency, a 21-paragraph affidavit in help of the appliance, a written deal with and related reveals. He added {that a} reply to the prosecution’s counter-affidavit had additionally been filed on October 22.
Opposing the appliance, prosecution counsel, Abu Ibrahim, urged the courtroom to dismiss it, arguing that the defence was making an attempt to reopen a difficulty already thought-about by the courtroom.
Ibrahim mentioned the prosecution had filed an 11-paragraph counter-affidavit, sworn to by Ebuka Okwonkwo, on October 22.
He contended that the courtroom had addressed the related medical challenge in its October 2 pronouncement regarding Exhibit AK2, arguing that the defence ought to have challenged the choice on enchantment reasonably than file one other utility on considerably the identical grounds.
The prosecutor additionally questioned whether or not the medical proof offered by the defence sufficiently justified the defendant’s launch.
“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 mentioned.
He additional argued that the defence had not offered medical documentation from LUTH establishing that the hospital couldn’t handle Kazeem’s situation.
“They said he was admitted, treated and discharged. We urge Your Lordship to dismiss this application,” he mentioned.
While acknowledging that bail was on the courtroom’s discretion, Ibrahim described Kazeem as a flight threat and urged the choose to impose stringent situations if the appliance was granted.
Responding, Etudo urged the courtroom to grant bail on liberal phrases, insisting that his shopper’s situation warranted his launch.
“The condition of the first defendant speaks for itself. We have heard what the prosecution said. We urge this court to grant this application on liberal terms,” he mentioned.
He assured the courtroom that Kazeem would attend subsequent proceedings if launched, including that his worldwide passport was already in the custody of the authorities.
After listening to the arguments, Justice Kakaki adjourned ruling on the bail utility to October 28, 2026.
Kazeem is standing trial alongside Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch on a 22-count cost involving allegations of conspiring to export 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine to the United Kingdom and cash laundering.
The defendants have pleaded not responsible to the fees.
