KC Luxury Kazeem Afolabi Seeks Recusal of Justice Kakaki in 184.5kg Cocaine Case
Socialite Kazeem Afolabi, popularly known as KC Luxury, has filed an application seeking the recusal of Justice Musa Kakaki from further hearing his alleged 184.5-kilogramme cocaine trafficking and money laundering case.
Afolabi’s lawyer, Emefo Etudo, disclosed this on Monday when the case resumed for the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to open its prosecution against the socialite and two other defendants.
Etudo told the court that his client had lost confidence in the presiding judge, prompting the application for Justice Kakaki to withdraw from the proceedings.
As in the previous hearing, KC Luxury was absent from court. His counsel explained that the defendant was still receiving treatment for a serious medical condition at the Police Hospital, Falomo, Lagos.
Following the application, lawyers representing the second and third defendants, Augustine Audu, SAN, and Augustine Nwagu, urged the court to separate the charges against their clients from those involving Afolabi.
They argued that severing the charges would allow their clients to defend themselves without being held back by the continued absence of the first defendant.
However, the lead prosecution counsel, Abu Ibrahim, said the NDLEA would file an appropriate response to the application.
Ibrahim maintained that the court had been fair to all parties, arguing that the denial of bail to the defendants did not amount to judicial bias.
He also told the court that the prosecution was ready to commence its case, having brought six witnesses to testify.
In view of the pending application and the circumstances surrounding the proceedings, the court vacated the hearing dates earlier scheduled from Monday to Friday for accelerated trial.
The matter was adjourned until November 25, 2026, for Afolabi’s counsel to argue the application seeking the judge’s recusal.
In September, the NDLEA arraigned Afolabi alongside Boniface Sule and Ikechukwu Patriarch on a 22-count charge bordering on cocaine trafficking, unlawful exportation of narcotics and money laundering.
The agency accused the defendants of involvement in the alleged trafficking of 184.5 kilogrammes of cocaine.
