Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai’s bid to have his ongoing criminal trial transferred from Justice Darius Hyet Khobo to another judge of the Kaduna State High Court has suffered a setback, with the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Muhammadu Tukur Mu’azu Aliyu, saying a three-member committee found no basis for the transfer.
The Chief Judge disclosed this in a letter dated August 19, 2026, addressed to Justice Khobo, following petitions submitted by El-Rufai and his counsel seeking the transfer of the charge. Justice Aliyu said he had considered the petitions dated June 30 and July 6, 2026, respectively, as well as Justice Khobo’s responses dated July 16. He said he subsequently exercised his administrative powers under the Kaduna State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2017, to constitute a three-member committee of “reputable legal practitioners” to investigate the allegations contained in the petitions.
According to the Chief Judge, the committee submitted its report on August 18, 2026, and found no justification for the exercise of his administrative powers to transfer the case to another judge. “The Committee found no basis for the exercise of my administrative powers to transfer the matter from Your Lordship to another Judge of the High Court of Justice, Kaduna State,” Justice Aliyu stated. He consequently directed Justice Khobo to continue with the trial.
El-Rufai had, in his July 6 petition, alleged that he had lost confidence in Justice Khobo’s ability to preside over the case impartially. The former governor’s legal team anchored the request principally on a ruling delivered by Justice Khobo on June 10, 2026, in which the judge reportedly refused El-Rufai’s second application for bail. According to the petition, El-Rufai alleged that portions of the ruling contained language which, in his view, suggested that the judge had formed prejudicial conclusions about his character and conduct.
The ruling is a significant victory for the prosecution and a setback for El-Rufai. The former governor’s attempt to transfer the trial was a delaying tactic, and the Chief Judge’s decision to reject it clears the way for the trial to proceed. The allegations against El-Rufai are serious, and the trial will be a test of the independence of the Kaduna State judiciary.
This echoes the 2022 trial of a former governor in Kaduna, which also saw attempts to transfer the case. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a legal battle over the venue of the trial.
The winners: the prosecution, which can proceed with the trial; and the Kaduna State judiciary, which has demonstrated its independence. The losers: El-Rufai, who faces trial; and the Nigerian public, who must trust the judicial process.
Bottom Line: El-Rufai’s bid to transfer his trial has failed. The case will proceed. The question is whether justice will be served or the trial will drag on.