Businessman Afolabi Michael Kazeem, popularly known as KC Luxury, has challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Lagos to make an interim order preserving his properties, arguing that the proceedings leading to the order violated his constitutional right to fair hearing.
Kazeem, is being tried alongside two others over an alleged 184.5kg cocaine trafficking and money laundering, before the court by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
He is asking the court to strike out the proceedings for want of jurisdiction, vacate the September 25, 2026 order preserving his properties and direct their immediate release.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, his new lawyer, Chief Emefo Etudo, told Justice Musa Kakaki that the defence had filed an application on October 13 challenging the court’s jurisdiction after sighting a newspaper publication concerning the preservation order.
Etudo said the defence had applied for a certified true copy of the proceedings of September 25 to establish what transpired before the order was made and enable it to file a further affidavit.
He argued that the court ought not to have granted the order in the first place, maintaining that the circumstances surrounding the proceedings raised questions about his client’s right to fair hearing.
Responding, counsel for the applicant, Abu Ibrahim, told the court that the business of the day was for a report.
He informed the court that it had granted the preservation order on September 25 and directed the applicant to publish the order in a widely circulated newspaper.
In the application dated October 13, Kazeem’s lawyers contended that he was not served with a hearing notice before the preservation order was made, thereby denying him an opportunity to challenge the application.
They argued that the alleged failure to afford him a hearing violated Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees fair hearing in the determination of civil rights and obligations.
The defence relied on several judicial authorities, including Madukolu v. Nkemdilim (1962) 2 SCNLR 341, to argue that compliance with due process is a condition for the valid exercise of jurisdiction.
The lawyers maintained that the alleged procedural irregularity rendered the proceedings a nullity and warranted the vacation of the order.
Beyond the jurisdictional challenge, Etudo raised concerns about Kazeem’s health, telling the court that the businessman 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 rushed to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on Tuesday but was subsequently taken away by the police to the Police Hospital.
He further claimed that both of the businessman’s lungs were no longer functioning properly.
“Only the living can be tried,” Etudo added.
The health concerns were also raised in the affidavit supporting the application, sworn by Kazeem’s wife, Adepeju Afolabi.
She alleged that her husband’s health had deteriorated and that he was receiving treatment at LUTH.
The affidavit included a medical report dated September 15, 2026, issued by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s medical unit at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command, Lagos.
The report, signed by Dr Odey John C., a Superintendent of Narcotics and head of the medical unit, identified Kazeem as a 49-year-old man with chronic asthma.
It stated that 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 exacerbations.
The defence is also alleging that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) had initiated steps to sell the properties covered by the preservation order.
According to the supporting affidavit, Kazeem informed his wife during a visit to the Ikoyi Correctional Centre on October 2 that he had learnt from media reports that the court had ordered the preservation of his properties.
She alleged that he subsequently told her that the agency had put machinery in motion to sell the assets.
The defence questioned the need to preserve the properties on the ground that they were not perishable and argued that the businessman remained presumed innocent because his criminal trial had not been concluded.
The application seeks an order striking out the proceedings for want of jurisdiction, vacating the September 25 order and directing the immediate release of the affected properties.
Meanwhile, the judge has adjourned the matter until December 3, for hearing.
Kazeem popularly called KC Luxury 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 over alleged conspiracy, cocaine trafficking and money laundering.
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
NDLEA had alleged that the trio conspired with two other suspects, Atandare Oladipupo Oluwarotimi and Latifat Yusuf, who were arrested in London, United Kingdom, to export 184.5kg of cocaine concealed in five consignments through a Lagos-based courier logistics company to London.
The prosecution further alleged that Kazeem facilitated the shipment and paid N13.2 million from a Mallamawa Ventures account with Zenith Bank to BOT Express Logistics for the consignment.
The NDLEA alleged that some of the funds were used to acquire luxury vehicles and landed properties.
The defendants have denied the allegations.
Justice Kakaki previously dismissed their bail applications, citing the gravity of the alleged offences, the severity of the punishment upon conviction and the possibility that they might abscond.
The judge subsequently ordered accelerated hearing of the criminal case.