2 hours ago
1
By Akin Kuponiyi
Businessman and social media influencer Afolabi Michael Kazeem, popularly known as KC Luxury, was brought to the Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday in an ambulance while receiving oxygen, as his lawyer sought his release on bail to obtain specialised medical treatment.
When the case came up for hearing, an officer of the Nigerian Correctional Service informed the court that Kazeem was critically ill and had been hospitalised.
The officer told the presiding judge, Justice Musa Kakaki, that the defendant had been brought to the court premises in an ambulance and called the nurse attending to him to provide information about his condition.
A nurse from the Police Hospital, Falomo, Lagos, Bukky Yahaya, told the court that Kazeem could not be moved from the ambulance into the courtroom because of his critical condition and the oxygen he was receiving.
Yahaya said Kazeem was admitted to the hospital on October 7, 2026, and diagnosed with asthma and sepsis.
She explained that he remained inside the ambulance within the court premises because he was receiving oxygen and could not be moved into the courtroom.
Following the nurse’s testimony, Kazeem’s counsel, Emefo Etudo, questioned why his client had been brought to court in such a condition, asking why a defendant in a critical state, comparable to one in an intensive care unit, should be brought before the court.
Justice Kakaki subsequently directed that Kazeem be returned to the hospital.
Kazeem is standing trial alongside two other defendants, Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch, over alleged trafficking in 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine and money laundering.
After the court ordered Kazeem’s return to the hospital, Etudo proceeded to argue a bail application dated October 16, 2026, seeking his client’s release to enable him to receive specialised medical treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
The lawyer told the court that the defence had filed an affidavit of urgency, a 21-paragraph affidavit in support of the application, a written address and relevant exhibits. He added that a reply to the prosecution’s counter-affidavit was filed on October 22.
Etudo argued that Kazeem’s condition had deteriorated, particularly following the collapse of his lungs, which he said had been disclosed by the Police Hospital in Falomo.
According to the defence counsel, the Police Hospital transferred Kazeem to LUTH because it lacked the facilities required for the surgical management of his condition.
He alleged that Kazeem was subsequently withdrawn from LUTH and taken to a correctional centre on October 13 despite his medical condition.
Etudo further told the court that Kazeem’s condition worsened while he was being conveyed to the correctional centre, forcing those accompanying him to return him to the Police Hospital in Falomo, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.
The lawyer urged the court to grant the application, arguing that his client’s medical condition warranted his release on bail to obtain the required treatment.
Opposing the application, counsel for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Abu Ibrahim, told the court that the prosecution had filed an 11-paragraph counter-affidavit, sworn to by Ebuka Okwonkwo on October 22.
Ibrahim argued that the defence was raising issues already considered by the court in its October 2 pronouncement on an earlier bail application.
He submitted that the new application amounted to an attempt to relitigate an issue that should have been challenged before the Court of Appeal.
The prosecutor also argued that the medical condition presented by the defence did not sufficiently justify Kazeem’s release.
He urged the court to dismiss the application, noting that the defence had stated that Kazeem was admitted, treated and discharged.
Although Ibrahim acknowledged that the granting of bail was within the court’s discretion, he described Kazeem as a flight risk and urged the judge to impose stringent conditions if the application was granted.
In his response, Etudo urged the court to grant bail on liberal terms, maintaining that the evidence presented about his client’s condition supported the application.
He also assured the court that Kazeem would attend subsequent proceedings if released, adding that his international passport was already in the custody of the authorities.
After hearing the arguments from both parties, Justice Kakaki adjourned ruling on the bail application until October 28, 2026.
English (US) ·