Alleged 184.5kg Cocaine Trafficking Trial: Socialite KC Luxury Arrives In Court in Police Ambulance, Receiving Oxygen

MICHAEL AKINOLA 

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, prompting the court to direct that he be returned to the hospital.

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 spoke after a correctional officer informed the court that Kazeem was critically ill and had been hospitalised. The officer subsequently called the nurse to explain the defendant’s condition.

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 taken back to the hospital, saying, “You can take him back to the hospital.”

The development occurred as the defence pursued a fresh bail application seeking Kazeem’s release to obtain specialised medical treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

Arguing the application after the court’s directive, Etudo said his client’s condition had deteriorated, alleging that he had suffered a lung collapse and required specialist attention.

The lawyer told the court that the Police Hospital had referred Kazeem to LUTH because it lacked the facilities required to manage his condition surgically.

Etudo further alleged that the defendant was withdrawn from LUTH and taken to a correctional centre on October 13, despite his medical condition.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 health 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.

The prosecution, however, opposed the fresh bail application, with counsel, Abu Ibrahim, arguing that the medical issues raised by the defence had substantially been considered by the court in an earlier ruling.

Ibrahim maintained that the defendant’s underlying ailment remained asthma, although it might have become more acute.

He also faulted the defence for allegedly failing to provide medical documentation from LUTH establishing that the hospital could not manage the defendant’s condition.

The prosecutor urged the court to dismiss the application, adding that Kazeem was a flight risk. He asked the judge to impose stringent conditions if bail was granted.

In response, Etudo urged the court to grant bail on liberal terms, assuring it that his client would attend subsequent proceedings.

He added that Kazeem’s international passport was already in the custody of the authorities.

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.