Court Orders El-Rufai to Defend Wiretapping Charges

A High Court in Abuja has ordered former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai to defend himself against charges of unlawfully intercepting telephone conversations involving National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik gave the order on Monday after dismissing El-Rufai’s no-case submission, ruling that the Department of State Services (DSS) had presented sufficient evidence for the former governor to respond to the five-count amended charge against him.

The judge adjourned the trial until November 25, 2026, for El-Rufai to open his defence.

The former governor filed the application after the prosecution closed its case, having called two witnesses. 

Through his lawyer, Paul Erokoro, El-Rufai asked the court to discharge and acquit him, arguing that the evidence presented did not establish a prima facie case against him.

Erokoro maintained that the prosecution had not produced sufficient evidence to justify requiring his client to answer the allegations.

However, prosecution counsel Oluwole Aladedoye urged the court to reject the application, arguing that the oral testimonies and documentary evidence before it warranted a defence from the former governor.

In dismissing the submission, Justice Abdulmalik ruled that the prosecution had made a sufficient case for the trial to proceed to the defence stage. 

The decision means El-Rufai must now respond to the allegations in court.

The charges relate to claims that El-Rufai unlawfully intercepted telephone conversations involving Ribadu.

The case followed an interview El-Rufai granted on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme in February 2026, during which he alleged that Ribadu’s telephone had been tapped.

During the interview, the former governor claimed that someone had intercepted the NSA’s phone, allowing him to listen to a conversation in which Ribadu allegedly directed security operatives to arrest him.

The allegation prompted the DSS prosecution.

El-Rufai is expected to begin presenting his defence when the case resumes on November 25.