Follow Us on Google
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 release him on bail for specialised medical treatment.
At the resumed hearing on Friday, a correctional officer informed the court that Kazeem was critically ill and had been hospitalised.
The officer told the court that the defendant had been brought to the premises in an ambulance and proceeded to call the nurse attending to him.
A nurse from the Police Hospital, Falomo, Lagos, Bukki Yahya, told Justice Musa Kakaki that Kazeem, who was receiving oxygen inside the ambulance at the court premises, 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 said.
Following the nurse’s testimony, Kazeem’s counsel, Emefo Etudo, questioned why his client was 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?” he asked.
Justice Kakaki subsequently directed that the defendant be returned to the hospital, saying, “You can take him back to the hospital.”
Kazeem is standing trial alongside two other defendants, Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch, over alleged 184.5kg cocaine trafficking and money laundering.
After the court directed that Kazeem be returned to the hospital, Etudo proceeded to argue his client’s bail application, dated October 16, 2026.
He told the court that the application sought Kazeem’s release on bail to enable him to receive specialised medical treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
The lawyer said the defence had filed an affidavit of urgency, a 21-paragraph affidavit in support of the application and a written address, alongside the relevant exhibits.
He added that the defence had also filed a reply to the prosecution’s counter-affidavit on October 22.
Etudo argued that Kazeem’s condition had deteriorated, particularly following the collapse of his lungs, which he said was disclosed by the Police Hospital, Falomo.
According to the lawyer, the police hospital transferred the defendant 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 condition.
Etudo said the defendant’s condition worsened while he was being conveyed to the correctional centre, forcing those accompanying him to return him to the Police Hospital, Falomo, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.
He urged the court to grant the bail application, arguing that the defendant’s medical condition warranted his release.
Opposing the application, prosecution counsel, Abu Ibrahim, said 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 concerning Exhibit AK2.
He submitted that the application amounted to an attempt to relitigate an issue that should have been challenged on appeal.
The prosecutor also argued that the medical condition presented by the defence did not sufficiently justify 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 added that the defence had not presented a medical document from LUTH showing 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 discretion of the court, Ibrahim said Kazeem was 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 spoke for itself.
“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 parties’ arguments, Justice Kakaki adjourned ruling on the bail application to October 28, 2026.
