El-Rufai’s no-case submission sets stage for critical September ruling

The high-stakes legal standoff between the federal government and former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai reached a critical procedural juncture on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The Department of State Services, via its counsel Oluwole Aladedoye, closed its prosecution after signalling it had presented enough evidence to convict the former governor on a five-count amended charge of wiretapping and breaching national security. The development immediately triggered an immediate response from El-Rufai’s legal team, which announced intentions to file a no-case submission, setting up a definitive judicial showdown.

The courtroom drama represents more than just a dry procedural milestone; it highlights a deeply personal and political battle for one of Nigeria’s most outspoken modern technocrats. For El-Rufai, who has spent decades navigating the highest corridors of power, sitting on the defendant’s bench represents a transition from policymaker to a target of the state’s security apparatus.

The case represents the first major trial under Section 12(1) of the newly minted Cybercrimes Amendment Act of 2024, turning El-Rufai into a test case for how the state intends to police elite political discourse. According to the charges, the ex-governor claimed during a live interview on Arise Television in February that he had intercepted a telephone conversation involving Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser, which allegedly revealed plans by security operatives to arrest him.

While the substantive trial pauses for the upcoming judicial recess, the immediate friction in the courtroom centred on El-Rufai’s freedom. Leading the defence, Paul Erokoro, SAN, made a passionate plea to Justice Joyce Abdulmalik to relax the bail conditions previously handed to the former governor.

He argued that the requirements compelling Level 17 civil servants with properties in Abuja’s Maitama or Asokoro districts to stand as sureties, alongside verification and attestation letters from the Kaduna State Traditional Council, were onerous.

However, the prosecution opposed the application, maintaining that qualified public officers existed and urging the court to retain the existing conditions.

In her ruling, Abdulmalik declined the request to vary the bail conditions, holding that there were civil servants who owned properties in the designated areas and could serve as sureties.

The court subsequently adjourned the matter till September 22 for the filing of the no-case submission and further proceedings.