The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday dismissed former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s no-case submission in his trial over the alleged unlawful interception of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu’s telephone communications.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik rejected the application after ruling that the Department of State Services (DSS) had presented sufficient evidence to require the former governor to enter his defence.
The judge subsequently ordered El-Rufai, the sole defendant in the case, to open his defence if he so wishes.
El-Rufai filed the no-case submission through his counsel, Akinyemi Aremu, after the DSS closed its case with the testimony of two witnesses.
Aremu had urged the court to discharge his client, arguing that the prosecution failed to establish a case requiring the former governor to defend himself.
However, DSS counsel Oluwole Aladedoye, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, opposed the application, insisting that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against El-Rufai.
Aladedoye specifically drew the court’s attention to Exhibit B, which the prosecution said contained an alleged admission by El-Rufai concerning the interception of Ribadu’s telephone communications.
The prosecution lawyer argued that the defence had failed to address the exhibit and maintained that the evidence before the court warranted an order directing the former governor to enter his defence.
In dismissing the application, Justice Abdulmalik held that the evidence presented by the DSS was sufficient to require El-Rufai to respond to the allegations.
