A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday ordered former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to defend himself against allegations of unlawfully intercepting telephone conversations involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik gave the order after dismissing El-Rufai’s no-case submission, ruling that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to require him to respond to the five-count amended charge filed by the Department of State Services.
The judge consequently directed the former governor to open his defence and adjourned the case until November 25, 2026.
El-Rufai had filed the no-case submission after the Federal Government closed its case, having called two witnesses to testify against him.
Through his counsel, Paul Erokoro, the former governor urged the court to discharge and acquit him, arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against him.
Erokoro maintained that the evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient to justify requiring his client to enter a defence.
However, prosecution counsel, Oluwole Aladedoye, urged the court to dismiss the application, arguing that the oral and documentary evidence presented during the trial established a case to which the defendant must respond.
In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik agreed with the prosecution that the case should proceed to the defence stage, rejecting El-Rufai’s request for discharge and acquittal at that point in the proceedings.
The case arose from allegations that El-Rufai unlawfully intercepted telephone conversations linked to Ribadu.
The controversy followed an interview the former governor granted on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme, in February 2026, during which he alleged that the NSA’s telephone conversation had been intercepted.
During the interview, El-Rufai claimed that “someone wiretapped” Ribadu’s telephone, enabling him to listen to a conversation in which the NSA allegedly instructed security operatives to arrest him.
The allegation subsequently formed the basis of the DSS prosecution against the former governor.
With the court dismissing his no-case submission, El-Rufai is expected to open his defence when proceedings resume on November 25, 2026.
