The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a no-case submission filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai in his trial over the alleged illegal interception of the phone communications of National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu.
Judge Joyce Abdulmalik, in a ruling on Monday, held that the State Security Service (SSS) had offered ample proof to require Mr El-Rufai to enter his defence, if he chooses.
The decide consequently ordered the previous governor, the only real defendant in the case, to enter his defence.
A defendant who fails to enter defence dangers might go away the decide with no different choice than to foreclose the defence and decide the defendant’s responsible or innocence soley on the strenght of the proof offered by the prosecution.
Mr El-Rufai, by means of his lawyer, Akinyemi Aremu, had urged the courtroom to maintain that the prosecution had failed to set up a case requiring him to defend himself.
However, the SSS lawyer, Oluwole Aladedoye, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), opposed the submission and adopted the prosecution’s arguments in opposition to it.
Mr Aladedoye argued that the defence had failed to deal with Exhibit B, which the prosecution mentioned contained Mr El-Rufai’s alleged admission regarding the interception of Mr Ribadu’s phone communications.
Mr El-Rufai, who has been in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and different associated offences Commission (ICPC), maintained that the prosecution had established a prima facie case in opposition to the previous governor and that he was subsequently required to enter his defence.
Backstory
The SSS filed the costs in opposition to Mr El-Rufai following feedback he made throughout an interview on Arise Television in the aftermath of a failed try to arrest him on the Abuja airport in February.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that SSS operatives tried to arrest Mr El-Rufai on 12 February, following his arrival from Cairo, Egypt.
While the arrest was unsuccessful, the safety operatives seized the previous governor’s passport.
The following day, Mr El-Rufai alleged throughout a reside interview on ‘Prime Time’, an Arise Television programme, that Mr Ribadu was behind the alleged try to arrest him on the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
He mentioned he knew Mr Ribadu ordered his arrest from listening to a wire-tapped cellphone name made by Mr Ribadu instructing safety operatives to perform his arrest.
Charges and trial
Following the interview, the SSS charged him with 5 counts relating to the alleged illegal interception of phone communications and different offences beneath the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, and so on.) Amendment Act 2024 and the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.
Mr El-Rufai pleaded not responsible to the costs when he was arraigned in April.
The prosecution referred to as two witnesses earlier than closing its case in June.
The first witness, an SSS operative recognized in courtroom by the code title APC, testified in regards to the company’s monitoring and preservation of the recording of Mr El-Rufai’s tv interview.
The prosecution additionally referred to as lawyer and human rights activist Deji Adeyanju, who testified in regards to the interview.
Mr Adeyanju told the court that he was on the Arise Television studio in Abuja when Mr El-Rufai gave the interview. The courtroom additionally watched a recording of the programme.
During his testimony, Mr Adeyanju confirmed that the recording mirrored what he witnessed in the course of the interview.
Under cross-examination, he advised the courtroom that he heard Mr El-Rufai say, “we listened to their calls”.
However, he acknowledged that Mr El-Rufai didn’t expressly say that he had personally tapped the NSA’s phone.
After presenting the witnesses and its proof, the prosecution knowledgeable the courtroom that it will not name any additional witnesses and closed its case.
El-Rufai’s no-case submission
Following the prosecution’s closure of its case, the defence indicated that it will file a no-case submission, asking the courtroom to dismiss the costs with out requiring Mr El-Rufai to enter his defence.
A no-case submission asks a courtroom to discharge a defendant on the bottom that the prosecution has not offered ample proof to warrant a defence.
Mr El-Rufai subsequently filed the submission, arguing that the prosecution had failed to set up a case in opposition to him.
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The prosecution, nonetheless, opposed the appliance, insisting that its proof was ample to require him to answer the allegations.
‘There’s a case to answer’
In Monday’s ruling, Judge Abdulmalik agreed with the prosecution that Mr El-Rufai has a case to answer.
He rejected the defence’s argument and held that the proof offered was ample to require Mr El-Rufai to enter his defence.
This means the previous governor will now have to enter his defence if he chooses to contest the allegations.
Mr El-Rufai is going through corruption prices instituted in opposition to him by the ICPC earlier than two separate courts in Kaduna over his actions throughout his eight years as governor. He can also be pursuing totally different human rights enforcement instances which arose from the actions of the ICPC regarding him and his members of the family since his detention by the fee in February. He not too long ago misplaced two of the instances.
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