Justice Musa Kakaki of the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday refused to grant bail to businessman and social media influencer Afolabi Michael Kazeem, popularly known as KC Luxury, over alleged 184.5kg cocaine trafficking and money laundering.
The judge held that the defence had failed to establish special circumstances to warrant bail on medical grounds, insisting that the application lacked sufficient evidence to justify the defendant’s release.
The judge further held that there was no medical certificate to warrant the court granting him bail.
“There is no medical certificate to warrant the court to grant him bail,” Kakaki ruled.
“If there is a special medical need for the first defendant, where a suspect claims an illness, an expert in the field would have given an explanation,” he said.
Kakaki, however, directed the Ikoyi Custodial Centre to grant Kazeem unrestricted access to doctors and medical experts for the treatment of any health condition.
The judge also ordered an accelerated hearing of the case, adjourning it until November 2, 2026, for the commencement of the trial.
At the last proceedings on Friday, Kazeem was brought to the court premises in an ambulance while receiving oxygen.
His counsel, Emefo Etudo, had urged the court to grant him bail to enable him to receive specialised medical treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
Etudo argued that Kazeem’s health had deteriorated, particularly following the collapse of his lungs, which he said was disclosed by the Police Hospital, Falomo.
Opposing the application, prosecution counsel, Abu Ibrahim, argued that the medical evidence 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.
When the case was called on Wednesday, a correctional officer from the Ikoyi Custodial Centre, Adeleye Akin, informed the court that Kazeem was still at the Police Hospital in Falomo.
Delivering his ruling, Kakaki said he had considered the bail application, the court records and the submissions of counsel on both sides.
The judge held that an applicant seeking bail must provide sufficient and cogent evidence to establish why the court should grant the request.
He also reviewed the medical evidence previously presented by the defence, including exhibits AK5, AK6 and AK8, which he said contained photographs of an individual lying on a hospital bed receiving treatment.
Kakaki recalled that in his ruling delivered on October 2, 2026, the court had noted a medical officer’s recommendation that Kazeem be assessed by a consultant respiratory physician or pulmonologist to evaluate his condition, optimise his treatment and prevent further acute episodes.
The judge said the recommendation did not establish that the defendant was suffering from an untreated illness.
He said, “Having gone through the records of the court and compared the ruling of October 2, 2026, I hereby discountenance all the exhibits.”
Addressing the defence’s argument that Kazeem needed specialised treatment at LUTH, Kakaki questioned the claim that the defendant could not be treated in a Nigerian hospital when the same application sought his release to enable him to receive treatment at the teaching hospital.
“Is it not ironic that the facility he said he cannot be treated in is the same LUTH he wants him to go to for specialised treatment?”
The judge also said the defence had failed to demonstrate any change in circumstances to justify a fresh bail application.
“However, changes in the circumstances were not disclosed.”
He recalled that on October 16, 2026, the court had ordered that Kazeem be remanded in a custodial centre.
“There is an inability to show special circumstances to warrant bail. I hereby discountenance it in the present application,” he said.
Kakaki further held that a claim of illness requiring specialist treatment should be supported by an expert’s assessment explaining the defendant’s condition.
“There was nothing stopping the Correctional Centre from calling an expert to attend to the first defendant, or using the first defendant’s doctor if he had one,” the judge said.
Refusing the application, Kakaki said, “The application is not granted; bail is refused to the first defendant. The case will proceed to an accelerated hearing.
“Where there is any health issue, the Correctional Centre shall give unfettered access to a doctor or expert for his treatment.”
Kazeem is standing trial alongside Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch over alleged 184.5kg cocaine trafficking and money laundering.
The case was adjourned until November 2, 2026, for the commencement of the trial.
