Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has withdrawn three applications filed in his ongoing corruption case after his new lead counsel apologised to the Kaduna State High Court over the tone of the earlier filings.
At Wednesday’s proceedings before Justice Darius Khobo, El-Rufai’s counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN), sought the court’s permission to withdraw the applications, describing them as unnecessarily confrontational.
Erokoro, who recently assumed responsibility for the defence, told the court he had reviewed the previous filings and found their language too combative. He apologised to the court, stating that he could not adopt the wording used in the earlier applications and had instead filed a fresh application.
The senior advocate also requested additional time to complete the new filing, which the court granted.
Speaking with journalists after the hearing, prosecuting counsel Ibrahim Muktar accused the defence of employing tactics aimed at delaying the commencement of the trial.
Muktar disclosed that, following the last adjournment, the defence filed two additional applications seeking the recusal of the trial judge, describing the latest move as another attempt to stall proceedings.
“The charge has already been filed, and the prosecution is ready to proceed. However, the defence keeps filing multiple applications, which have continued to consume valuable court time and frustrate the commencement of the trial. We would have made significant progress if not for these applications,” he said.
Justice Khobo subsequently adjourned the matter until July 22, 2026, to hear the fresh application filed by the defence.
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