“Only The Living Can Be Tried” — KC Luxury Challenges Property Preservation Order, Raises Fair-Hearing And Health Concerns

Businessman Afolabi Michael Kazeem, popularly known as KC Luxury, has approached the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to set aside an interim order preserving his properties, arguing that the proceedings leading to the order were conducted in violation of his constitutional right to fair hearing.

Kazeem, who is standing trial alongside two others over an alleged 184.5-kilogramme cocaine trafficking operation and money laundering, is asking the court to strike out the preservation proceedings for want of jurisdiction, vacate the order made on September 25, 2026, and direct the immediate release of the affected properties.

At proceedings on Wednesday, counsel to Kazeem, Chief Emefo Etudo, told Justice Musa Kakaki that the defence had filed an application on October 13 challenging the jurisdiction of the court after becoming aware of a newspaper publication concerning the preservation order.

Justice Kakaki subsequently adjourned the matter until December 3 for hearing of the application.

Etudo informed the court that the defence had also applied for a certified true copy of the proceedings of September 25 in order to ascertain what transpired before the preservation order was granted and to enable it file a further affidavit where necessary.

According to the defence, the court ought not to have granted the order in the circumstances surrounding the proceedings, which it argued raised substantial questions regarding Kazeem’s right to be heard before an order affecting his property interests was made.

Responding, counsel for the applicant, Abu Ibrahim, told the court that the matter before it on Wednesday was for a report.

He informed the court that the preservation order had been granted on September 25, with a further directive that the applicant 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 and was therefore denied an opportunity to oppose or respond to the application.

The defence argued that the alleged failure to afford him a hearing amounted to a violation of Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the right to fair hearing in the determination of a person’s civil rights and obligations.

Relying on judicial authorities including Madukolu v. Nkemdilim (1962) 2 SCNLR 341, the lawyers maintained that compliance with due process is fundamental to the valid exercise of jurisdiction by a court.

They consequently argued that the alleged procedural irregularity rendered the preservation proceedings a nullity and justified the setting aside of the order.

Beyond the jurisdictional challenge, Etudo also raised concerns over 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 on Tuesday but was subsequently taken away by the police to the Police Hospital.

Etudo further claimed that both of his client’s lungs were no longer functioning properly, adding: “Only the living can be tried.”

The health concerns were also contained in an affidavit filed in support of the application and sworn to by Kazeem’s wife, Adepeju Afolabi.

She alleged that her husband’s health had deteriorated and that he was receiving treatment at LUTH.

Attached to the affidavit was a medical report dated September 15, 2026, issued by the medical unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command in Lagos.

The report, signed by Dr Odey John C., a Superintendent of Narcotics and head of the medical unit, described 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 that Kazeem be assessed by a consultant respiratory physician or pulmonologist for further evaluation of his condition, optimisation of treatment and prevention of further acute exacerbations.

The defence is also alleging that the NDLEA has initiated steps towards the sale of 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 further alleged that her husband subsequently informed her that the agency had put machinery in motion to sell the assets.

The defence questioned the need for the continued preservation of the properties, arguing that the assets were not perishable and that Kazeem remained constitutionally presumed innocent because the criminal proceedings against him had not been concluded.

It is therefore asking the court for an order striking out the preservation proceedings for want of jurisdiction, setting aside the September 25 order and directing the immediate release of the properties affected by it.

Kazeem is standing trial alongside Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch before Justice Kakaki on a second amended 22-count charge filed by the NDLEA.

The charge borders on alleged conspiracy, cocaine trafficking and money laundering. All three defendants have pleaded not guilty.

The NDLEA alleges that the defendants 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 domiciled with Zenith Bank to BOT Express Logistics in connection with the consignment.

The agency also alleged that some proceeds linked to the alleged offences were used to acquire luxury vehicles and landed properties.

Kazeem and the other defendants have denied the allegations.

Justice Kakaki had earlier dismissed their applications for bail, citing, among other considerations, the gravity of the alleged offences, the severity of the punishment upon conviction and the possibility that the defendants could abscond.

The court subsequently ordered an accelerated hearing of the criminal case.

Post Title: “Only The Living Can Be Tried” — KC Luxury Challenges Property Preservation Order, Raises Fair-Hearing And Health Concerns By Papers Nigeria.