The planned arraignment of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over allegations that he unlawfully intercepted the telephone communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was stalled on Wednesday.
Proceedings before the Federal High Court in Abuja could not go on after the Department of State Services failed to present the defendant in court.
El-Rufai, who was earlier detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over separate money laundering investigations, was subsequently handed over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
Although the court had granted the DSS permission to arraign him on a three-count charge bordering on alleged threats to national security while he was in ICPC custody, the anti-corruption agency informed the court on Wednesday that it still retained custody of the former governor.
In light of the development, trial judge Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned the matter until April 23.
El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023 and previously served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had been scheduled to take his plea before Justice Abdulmalik.
In the charge signed by a five-member prosecution team from the DSS led by M. E. Ernest, the agency alleged that the former governor committed the offence in collaboration with others who are currently at large.
According to the charge, he admitted during a February 13 appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja that he aligned with others to unlawfully intercept the NSA’s telephone communications, an act said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
The prosecution further alleged that during the television interview, El-Rufai acknowledged knowing and associating with an individual who had unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s calls without reporting the matter to relevant security agencies.
By allegedly failing to disclose the offence, he was said to have violated Section 27(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
The DSS also accused him of acting in concert with others still at large to deploy technical equipment in a manner that compromised public safety and national security, thereby causing reasonable apprehension among Nigerians.
This allegation was said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 131(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.
The case stems from events surrounding February 12, 2026, when El-Rufai claimed that DSS operatives attempted to “abduct” him at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja upon his return from Cairo. He alleged that the security agency was acting on the prompting of the ICPC, which he said had received a directive from Ribadu to detain him.
He further claimed that the information was relayed to him by someone who had listened in on the NSA’s telephone conversations.
In a motion challenging the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, the former governor listed 17 grounds upon which he urged the court to quash the case.
Beyond describing the charge as incompetent and legally defective, El-Rufai argued that the DSS lacked the authority to treat what he termed a “casual remark” made during a television interview as “a confession” that he tapped the NSA’s telephone line.
He maintained that his comments on Arise TV did not amount to a confessional statement in law, stressing that for such a statement to be admissible, “it must be made under caution, voluntarily, and in circumstances that satisfy the Judges’ Rules.”
El-Rufai insisted that his remarks during the interview were “without any caution or warning, in a voluntary public discussion and without the protections afforded to suspects in custody.
“A casual remark in a television programme cannot be elevated to a judicial confession,” he further argued.
