Businessman and social media influencer, Afolabi Kazeem, popularly known as KC Luxury, has challenged a Federal High Court judgment in Lagos over an interim order preserving his properties, alleging that the proceedings leading to the order breached his constitutional right to fair hearing.
Kazeem, who is standing trial alongside two others over alleged cocaine trafficking and money laundering, is asking the court to set aside the September 25, 2026, order, strike out the proceedings that produced it and direct the immediate release of the affected assets.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, counsel for the defendants, Emefo Etudo, told Justice Musa Kakaki that the defence had filed an application challenging the court’s jurisdiction, insisting that the issue should be resolved before other applications relating to the matter were considered.
Etudo said he had only recently learnt of the publication of the interim order, prompting him to file the application.
“My Lord, I was shown the publication about three days ago and had to rush to file our objection on jurisdiction,” he said.
The lawyer argued that the prosecution should not proceed with its request for a report of compliance with the preservation order while the defence was challenging the legal basis on which it was issued.
He maintained that the order was made without allowing his client to be heard, contrary to Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the right to fair hearing.
Responding, counsel for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Abu Ibrahim, told the court that the matter was scheduled for a report of compliance with the directives issued on September 25.
He explained that the court had granted the preservation order following an ex parte application by the prosecution and directed that it be published in a national newspaper.
Etudo, however, urged the judge to consider the defence’s objection, arguing that the prosecution should not be allowed to proceed based on an order whose validity was being contested.
Justice Kakaki subsequently indicated that he would hear the application challenging the court’s jurisdiction alongside the other applications before him.
In the application dated October 13, 2026, the defence argued that Kazeem was not served with a hearing notice before the preservation order was made, thereby denying him an opportunity to oppose the application.
The lawyers cited Section 36(1) of the Constitution and the Supreme Court decision in Madukolu v. Nkemdilim (1962) 2 SCNLR 341, arguing that compliance with due process was fundamental to the valid exercise of jurisdiction.
They contended that the alleged procedural irregularities rendered the proceedings a nullity and warranted the setting aside of the order.
Apart from the jurisdiction challenge, Etudo raised concerns about Kazeem’s health, telling the court that his client was in a critical condition.
“My Lord, just as a form of information to the court, the first defendant is between life and death as we speak,” he said.
The lawyer alleged that Kazeem was taken to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital on Tuesday but was subsequently moved by the police to the Police Hospital.
He further claimed that his client was experiencing serious respiratory complications.
“Only the living can be tried,” Etudo added.
The defence’s concerns were also contained in an affidavit supporting the application, sworn to by Kazeem’s wife, Adepeju Afolabi.
She alleged that her husband’s health had deteriorated and that he had been receiving medical attention.
Attached to the affidavit was a medical report dated September 15, 2026, issued by the NDLEA medical unit at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command in Lagos.
The report, signed by a Superintendent of Narcotics and head of the medical unit, Dr Odey John, identified Kazeem as a 49-year-old man with chronic asthma.
According to the report, he had experienced recurrent episodes of breathlessness, wheezing and chest pain despite treatment.
The medical officer recommended an assessment by a consultant respiratory physician or pulmonologist to evaluate his condition, optimise his treatment and prevent further acute episodes.
The defence also alleged that the NDLEA had begun taking steps to sell the properties covered by the preservation order.
According to the supporting affidavit, Kazeem told his wife during a visit to the Ikoyi Correctional Centre on October 2, 2026, that he had learnt from media reports that the court had ordered the preservation of his properties.
She alleged that he subsequently informed her that the agency had begun taking steps towards selling the assets.
The defence questioned the need to preserve the properties, arguing that they were not perishable and that the criminal trial had yet to be concluded.
It also maintained that Kazeem remained presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The application is seeking an order striking out the proceedings for want of jurisdiction, setting aside the September 25, 2026, preservation order and directing the immediate release of the affected properties.
Kazeem and his co-defendants, Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch, are standing trial before Justice Kakaki on a second amended 22-count charge filed by the NDLEA.
Kazeem is facing charges bordering on alleged conspiracy, cocaine trafficking and money laundering, preferred against him by the NDLEA.
