•Nurse says KC Luxury cannot enter courtroom; NDLEA opposes medical bail, cites flight risk
Wale Igbintade
Businessman and social media influencer, Afolabi Michael Kazeem, popularly known as KC Luxury, was brought to the Federal High Court in Lagos in an ambulance while receiving oxygen on Friday, as his lawyer urged the court to grant him bail for specialised medical treatment over his deteriorating health.
A nurse attending to the defendant, Bukki Yahya of the Police Hospital, Falomo, Lagos, told Justice Musa Kakaki that Kazeem could not be moved into the courtroom because of his condition.
Yahya said the defendant was admitted to the hospital on October 7, 2026, and diagnosed with asthma and sepsis.
“My Lord, I am Bukki Yahya, the nurse attending to the patient, Afolabi. He was diagnosed with asthma and sepsis when he was brought to 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 told the court.
The nurse testified after a correctional officer informed the court that Kazeem was critically ill and had been hospitalised.
Following the testimony, Kazeem’s counsel, Chief Emefo Etudo, questioned why his client had been brought to court in such a condition.
“If, for instance, the defendant was in the intensive care unit and is like this, why should they bring him to court?” the lawyer asked.
Justice Kakaki subsequently directed that the defendant be returned to the hospital, saying, “You can take him back to the hospital.”
After the court’s directive, Etudo proceeded to argue a fresh bail application dated October 16, 2026, seeking Kazeem’s release to enable him to obtain specialised medical treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).
The lawyer told the court that his client’s condition had deteriorated, alleging that he had suffered a lung collapse and required specialist medical attention.
Etudo said the Police Hospital had referred Kazeem to LUTH because it lacked the facilities required for the surgical management of his condition.
He further alleged that the defendant was withdrawn from LUTH and taken to a correctional centre on October 13, despite his medical condition.
According to the defence, Kazeem’s condition worsened while he was being conveyed to the correctional facility, forcing those accompanying him to return him to the Police Hospital, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.
Etudo argued that the alleged deterioration in his client’s health and the circumstances surrounding his removal from LUTH constituted fresh grounds for the court to reconsider his continued detention and grant him bail.
He said 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 had also been filed on October 22.
Opposing the application, prosecution counsel, Abu Ibrahim, urged the court to dismiss it, arguing that the defence was attempting to reopen an issue already considered by the court.
Ibrahim said the prosecution had filed an 11-paragraph counter-affidavit, sworn to by Ebuka Okwonkwo, on October 22.
He contended that the court had addressed the relevant medical issue in its October 2 pronouncement concerning Exhibit AK2, arguing that the defence should have challenged the decision on appeal rather than file another application on substantially the same grounds.
The prosecutor also questioned whether the medical evidence presented by the defence sufficiently justified the defendant’s release.
“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 said.
He further argued that the defence had not presented medical documentation from LUTH establishing that the hospital could not manage Kazeem’s condition.
“They said he was admitted, treated and discharged. We urge Your Lordship to dismiss this application,” he said.
While acknowledging that bail was at the court’s discretion, Ibrahim described Kazeem as a flight risk and urged the judge to impose stringent conditions if the application was granted.
Responding, Etudo urged the court to grant bail on liberal terms, insisting that his client’s condition warranted his release.
“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 said.
He 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, Justice Kakaki adjourned ruling on the bail application to October 28, 2026.
Kazeem is standing trial alongside Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch on a 22-count charge involving allegations of conspiring to export 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine to the United Kingdom and money laundering.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges.