…orders him to open his defence
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday held that the detained former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has a case to answer over an allegation that he unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
The court, in a ruling delivered by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, dismissed as lacking in merit a no-case submission that the embattled former governor filed to be discharged and acquitted of the charge against him.
El-Rufai, who was governor between 2015 and 2023 and also served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, is facing trial over comments he made when he appeared as a guest on Arise Television on February 13.
He is answering to a five-count amended charge that the Federal Government preferred against him through the Department of State Services (DSS).
It was alleged that the defendant, during his appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme in Abuja, admitted that he knew and was associated with an individual who had illegally intercepted the NSA’s telephone communications.
Aside from the allegation that his action breached national security and public safety, an offence punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, the former governor was also charged with failing to report the crime to the relevant security agencies.
The defendant had, during the TV interview, reacted to what he described as an attempt by DSS operatives to “abduct” him at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on February 12, 2026, upon his return from Cairo.
He insisted that the security agency was being instigated by the ICPC, which he said had received a directive from the NSA, Ribadu, to detain him.
The former governor claimed the information reached him through someone who had listened in on the NSA’s telephone conversations.
Meanwhile, after the prosecution closed its case with the evidence of two witnesses who testified before the court, the defendant applied to be discharged and acquitted.
El-Rufai, through his team of lawyers led by Mr. Paul Erokoro, SAN, insisted that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case to warrant the court compelling him to enter a defence to the charge, which he described as incompetent.
However, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Oluwole Aladedoye, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the application and order the defendant to open his defence to the charge.
Aladedoye, SAN, maintained that the oral and documentary evidence laid before the court was sufficient to tie the defendant to the allegations against him.
In her ruling on the matter, Justice Abdulmalik said the court was satisfied that the evidence laid by the prosecution was strong enough to warrant explanations from the defendant.
Even though the court had yet to ascertain the defendant’s culpability or otherwise, it dismissed the no-case submission and ordered him to open his defence to the charge.
It will be recalled that shortly after being accused of admitting that he used “technical equipment” to illegally intercept the NSA’s calls, El-Rufai filed a motion to stop his trial.
He gave 17 reasons why the charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, should be quashed by the court.
He argued that the charge was incompetent and legally defective, insisting that the DSS had no legal basis to elevate a “casual remark” he made during a television interview into “a confession” that he had indeed tapped the NSA’s telephone line, as alleged.
He argued that the statement he made on Arise TV did not constitute a confessional statement in law, saying that for a statement to be admissible as a confession, it must be made under caution, voluntarily, and in circumstances that satisfy the Judges’ Rules.
El-Rufai maintained that the statements he made during his television interview were made without caution or warning, in a voluntary public discussion, and without the protections afforded to suspects in custody.
“A casual remark on a television programme cannot be elevated to a judicial confession,” he further argued.
However, the court declined to quash the charge and ordered an accelerated hearing of the case.
El-Rufai who has been in detention since February is standing trial before courts in both Abuja and Kaduna state.
Justice Abdulmalik had, on July 23, dismissed as lacking in merit an application that the former governor filed for the variation of his bail conditions, which he described as very stringent and difficult to fulfil.
According to El-Rufai’s lawyer, the bail conditions sought to be varied included the requirement that the defendant produce level 17 civil servants with properties in Maitama or Asokoro, as well as verification and attestation letters from the Kaduna State traditional council.
However, the prosecution opposed the variation request, insisting that qualified public officers who could meet the conditions existed and could easily be secured by the defendant.
It persuaded the court to reject the application.
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