By: Seun Kabir
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a no-case submission by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai in his trial over the alleged interception of the telephone communications of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled on Monday that the prosecution had presented enough evidence to require El-Rufai to open his defence if he chooses to. The ruling means the trial will continue and will not end at the prosecution stage.
El-Rufai submitted after the Department of State Services (DSS) closed its case, having called two witnesses. His counsel, Akinyemi Aremu, asked the court to dismiss the charges, arguing that the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence to make a case against him.
DSS counsel Oluwole Aladedoye opposed the application and urged the court to direct El-Rufai to present his defence. He argued that the defence had not adequately dealt with Exhibit B, which the prosecution described as containing an alleged admission by the former governor about intercepting Ribadu’s telephone communications.
The case arises from comments El-Rufai allegedly made in a television interview in February 2026, in which he discussed the interception of conversations involving the national security adviser.
Human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju testified about those remarks, and the court watched the recorded interview presented by the prosecution. Adeyanju told the court that he did not hear El-Rufai expressly say he had hacked Ribadu’s phone, but that he heard him refer to listening to the national security adviser’s conversations.
El-Rufai faces an amended five-count charge over the alleged unlawful interception of Ribadu’s telephone communications and an alleged breach of national security. He has pleaded not guilty.
The ruling does not decide his guilt or innocence. It requires him to respond to the prosecution’s evidence if he chooses to proceed with a defence.
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