Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai appeared in court on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Kaduna to face charges brought by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
At the start of the hearing, his lawyers said they were surprised to see Justice R. M. Aikawa handling the case. They reminded the court that El Rufai had already filed a petition against the judge, which is still being reviewed by the National Judicial Council.
Despite this, Justice Aikawa said the arraignment would go on. However, he told the defence team that if they want him to step aside, they must submit a formal written request.
The judge then postponed the case until March 31, 2026. On that day, the court will hear bail requests and other applications for El Rufai and his co defendant, Joel Adoga.
This situation follows a ruling by the Court of Appeal in Kaduna on March 17, 2026. The appeal court overturned an earlier decision made by Justice Aikawa in a case El Rufai filed in 2024 about his fundamental rights. The higher court said El Rufai was not given a fair hearing and ordered that the case should be heard again from the beginning.
The dispute involving Justice Aikawa started on July 18, 2024. El Rufai’s lawyer, A. U. Mustapha, filed a petition accusing the judge of being biased, unfair, and denying his client a proper hearing. The petition asked that the case be moved to another judge, but that request was not accepted at the time. The defence later appealed, and the appeal was successful.
El Rufai filed another petition on February 12, 2025, this time addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, who also leads the National Judicial Council. In that complaint, he again accused the judge of bias, unfair treatment, and behavior not expected from a judicial officer.
He also sent reminders about the petition in November 2025 and March 2026. In his latest message, he asked the Chief Justice to speed up the review and consider moving all related cases in the Kaduna Federal High Court to a different judge.
According to his legal team, this request is meant to ensure fairness and protect the credibility of the court process.
