Nigerian businessman Michael Kazeem, popularly known as KC Luxury, has asked a Federal High Court in Lagos to vacate an order preserving his properties, alleging that he was denied a fair hearing before the order was granted.
Kazeem, who is standing trial alongside two others over alleged cocaine trafficking involving 184.5kg of the drug and money laundering, is also challenging the court’s jurisdiction to issue the order made on September 25, 2026.
A property preservation order is a court directive designed to prevent assets from being sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of while legal proceedings are ongoing.
At Wednesday’s proceedings, defence counsel Emefo Etudo told Justice Musa Kakaki that the defence filed an application on October 13 after learning of the preservation order through a newspaper publication.
Etudo said the defence had requested a certified true copy of the September 25 proceedings to establish what transpired before the order was made and enable it to file a further affidavit.
In the application, KC Luxury’s lawyers argued that their client was not served with a hearing notice before the order was granted, depriving him of the opportunity to challenge the application.
They cited Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the right to a fair hearing, alongside other judicial authorities.
The defence argued that the alleged procedural irregularity rendered the proceedings a nullity. It asked the court to strike out the proceedings for want of jurisdiction, vacate the preservation order and direct the immediate release of the affected properties.
Abu Ibrahim, counsel for the applicant who sought the preservation order, told the court that the matter was listed for a report. He said the court granted the order on September 25 and directed the applicant to publish it in a widely circulated newspaper before adjourning the matter until December 3 for hearing.
KC Luxury’s Lawyers Raise Health Concerns
Etudo also raised concerns about his client’s health, telling the court that KC Luxury 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 KC Luxury was taken to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on Tuesday but was subsequently moved by the police to the Police Hospital.
He further claimed that his client’s lungs were no longer functioning properly.
“Only the living can be tried,” Etudo added.
An affidavit supporting the application, sworn by KC Luxury’s wife, Adepeju Afolabi, also raised concerns about his deteriorating health and stated that he was receiving treatment at LUTH.
The affidavit included a medical report dated September 15, 2026, issued by the medical unit of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command in Lagos.
The report, signed by the head of the medical unit, Odey John C., identified KC Luxury as a 49-year-old man with chronic asthma.
It documented recurrent breathlessness, wheezing and chest pain despite treatment, recommending an assessment by a consultant respiratory physician or pulmonologist.
Defence Alleges NDLEA Plans to Sell Properties
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, KC Luxury told 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 informed her that the agency was making arrangements to sell the assets.
The defence questioned the need to preserve the properties, arguing that they were not perishable and that KC Luxury remained presumed innocent because his criminal trial had not been concluded.
The court has yet to determine the application challenging the preservation order.
Background to the Cocaine Trafficking Case
KC Luxury is standing trial alongside Boniface Freeman Ochoche Sule and Ikechukwu Ekugo Patriarch 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.
The agency alleged that the trio conspired with two other suspects, Atandare Oladipupo Oluwarotimi and Latifat Yusuf, who were arrested in London, to export 184.5kg of cocaine concealed in five consignments through a Lagos-based courier logistics company to the United Kingdom.
The prosecution further alleged that KC Luxury facilitated the shipment and paid ₦13.2 million from a Mallamawa Ventures account with Zenith Bank to BOT Express Logistics for the consignment.
The NDLEA also alleged that some of the funds were used to acquire luxury vehicles and landed properties.
The defendants have denied the allegations.
The court had 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.
It subsequently ordered an accelerated hearing of the criminal case.
