Alleged Wiretapping: Court Rejects El-Rufai’s ‘No-Case’ Submission, Orders Him to Open Defence

ABUJA, NIGERIA — A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a no-case submission filed by the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, in his ongoing trial over the alleged unlawful interception of telephone conversations.

The ruling, delivered on Monday by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, effectively thwarts the former governor’s bid to halt the trial. The court ruled that the prosecution had successfully established a prima facie case, providing sufficient evidence to require the defendant to enter his defence.

The Department of State Services (DSS) is prosecuting El-Rufai on a five-count amended charge related to breaches of national security and the unauthorized wiretapping of phone communications linked to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

During the proceedings, prosecution counsel Oluwole Aladedoye (SAN) argued against the no-case submission, highlighting that El-Rufai’s legal team failed to address critical components of the evidence. Specifically, Aladedoye pointed to Exhibit “B,” which the prosecution asserts contains an admission by El-Rufai regarding the tapping of Ribadu’s phone during a television interview broadcast earlier this year.

Armed with testimonies from two key witnesses and the visual admission, the state maintained that the law required the defendant to present a formal response.

The DSS initially filed the security breach charges against the former governor on February 16, 2026, which El-Rufai strongly denied. Following the presentation of their arguments, the DSS formally concluded its evidentiary phase in mid-2024, prompting El-Rufai’s lead counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN), to submit the application for dismissal.

The defence team had previously argued that the state failed to present concrete proof linking the politician to a deliberate national security violation. However, Justice Abdulmalik’s latest decision clarifies that the threshold for a full trial has been met.

With the no-case application officially thrown out, Justice Abdulmalik has adjourned the matter until November 25, 2026, directing El-Rufai to open his defence.