The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, May 18, admitted former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai to a ₦100 million bail with one surety in like sum.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik handed down the ruling, imposing tight restrictions before the bail can be perfected. Notably, the court mandates that the surety must reside within Abuja’s high-brow Maitama or Asokoro areas and surrender a property’s original Certificate of Occupancy
Furthermore, the court mandates that the surety must be a federal civil servant at or above Grade Level 17. This guarantor must provide three months of salary payment evidence, officially authenticated by a branch manager of a bank within the court’s jurisdiction. To finalize the agreement, the surety must submit an affidavit of means, sign a bail bond, and provide a recent passport photograph, while El-Rufai himself must surrender all valid international passports to the court registry.
In addition to the financial benchmarks, the court directed the submission of an official verification letter from the surety’s immediate department, accompanied by a six-month tax clearance certificate. To maintain this conditional freedom pending the determination of the case, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ordered Nasir El-Rufai to report to the Department of State Services (DSS) headquarters at 10 a.m. on the last Friday of every month to sign an attendance register.
The judge warned that any deviation from these terms would trigger an automatic revocation of the bail, while further mandating the defendant to present a letter of attestation from the Chairman of the Kaduna Traditional Council.
