The legal battle surrounding former Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has entered a decisive phase, with the Department of State Services formally closing its case before the Federal High Court in Abuja, opening the door for El-Rufai’s legal team to file a no-case submission.
The DSS is prosecuting El-Rufai on an amended five-count charge bordering on alleged unlawful interception of communications and breach of national security.
The charges stem from a February 2026 television appearance. During an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme, El-Rufai claimed that someone had wiretapped NSA Nuhu Ribadu’s phone, allowing him to hear Ribadu allegedly directing security operatives to arrest him.
DSS counsel Oluwole Aladedoye informed the court that the prosecution would not be calling any further witnesses, prompting the formal closure of its case.
During proceedings, prosecution witness Barrister Deji Adeyanju testified that El-Rufai confirmed during the live interview that his associates had listened to the NSA’s telephone conversations. However, under cross-examination by defence counsel Paul Erokoro, Adeyanju admitted he did not hear El-Rufai explicitly say he hacked the NSA’s phone lines.
El-Rufai’s defence team had earlier challenged the charge on 17 grounds, arguing that the DSS had elevated what amounted to a casual television remark into a criminal confession.
The court is expected to receive the no-case submission at the next sitting.
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