The Federal Prime Court docket in Abuja has brushed aside a no-case submission filed by way of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai in his trial over the alleged illegal interception of the phone communications of Nationwide Safety Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu.
Pass judgement on Joyce Abdulmalik, in a ruling on Monday, held that the State Safety Provider (SSS) had introduced enough proof to require Mr El-Rufai to go into his defence, if he chooses.
The pass judgement on as a result ordered the previous governor, the only defendant within the case, to go into his defence.
A defendant who fails to go into defence dangers would possibly go away the pass judgement on without a different choice than to foreclose the defence and resolve the defendant’s accountable or innocence soley at the strenght of the proof introduced by way of the prosecution.
Mr El-Rufai, thru his attorney, Akinyemi Aremu, had steered the court docket to carry that the prosecution had failed to ascertain a case requiring him to protect himself.
On the other hand, the SSS attorney, Oluwole Aladedoye, a Senior Suggest of Nigeria (SAN), hostile the submission and followed the prosecution’s arguments towards it.
Mr Aladedoye argued that the defence had failed to handle Showcase B, which the prosecution mentioned contained Mr El-Rufai’s alleged admission regarding the interception of Mr Ribadu’s phone communications.
Mr El-Rufai, who has been within the custody of the Unbiased Corrupt Practices and different similar offences Fee (ICPC), maintained that the prosecution had established a prima facie case towards the previous governor and that he used to be subsequently required to go into his defence.
Backstory
The SSS filed the costs towards Mr El-Rufai following feedback he made throughout an interview on Stand up Tv within the aftermath of a failed try to arrest him on the Abuja airport in February.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that SSS operatives tried to arrest Mr El-Rufai on 12 February, following his arrival from Cairo, Egypt.
Whilst the arrest used to be unsuccessful, the safety operatives seized the previous governor’s passport.
Tomorrow, Mr El-Rufai alleged throughout a are living interview on ‘High Time’, an Stand up Tv programme, that Mr Ribadu used to be at the back of the alleged try to arrest him on the Nnamdi Azikiwe World Airport, Abuja.
He mentioned he knew Mr Ribadu ordered his arrest from being attentive to a wire-tapped cellphone name made by way of Mr Ribadu teaching safety operatives to hold out his arrest.
Fees and trial
Following the interview, the SSS charged him with 5 counts on the subject of the alleged illegal interception of phone communications and different offences underneath the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, and many others.) Modification Act 2024 and the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.
Mr El-Rufai pleaded no longer accountable to the costs when he used to be arraigned in April.
The prosecution known as two witnesses prior to ultimate its case in June.
The primary witness, an SSS operative recognized in court docket by way of the code title APC, testified in regards to the company’s tracking and preservation of the recording of Mr El-Rufai’s tv interview.
The prosecution often known as attorney and human rights activist Deji Adeyanju, who testified in regards to the interview.
Mr Adeyanju told the court that he used to be on the Stand up Tv studio in Abuja when Mr El-Rufai gave the interview. The court docket additionally watched a recording of the programme.
Right through his testimony, Mr Adeyanju showed that the recording mirrored what he witnessed throughout the interview.
Beneath cross-examination, he informed the court docket that he heard Mr El-Rufai say, “we listened to their calls”.
On the other hand, he said that Mr El-Rufai didn’t expressly say that he had for my part tapped the NSA’s phone.
After presenting the witnesses and its proof, the prosecution knowledgeable the court docket that it could no longer name any more witnesses and closed its case.
El-Rufai’s no-case submission
Following the prosecution’s closure of its case, the defence indicated that it could report a no-case submission, asking the court docket to disregard the costs with out requiring Mr El-Rufai to go into his defence.
A no-case submission asks a court docket to discharge a defendant at the flooring that the prosecution has no longer introduced enough proof to warrant a defence.
Mr El-Rufai therefore filed the submission, arguing that the prosecution had failed to ascertain a case towards him.
READ ALSO: 2027: El-Rufai betrayed us – Ex-Chief of Staff
The prosecution, then again, hostile the appliance, insisting that its proof used to be enough to require him to reply to the allegations.
‘There’s a case to reply to’
In Monday’s ruling, Pass judgement on Abdulmalik agreed with the prosecution that Mr El-Rufai has a case to reply to.
He rejected the defence’s argument and held that the proof introduced used to be enough to require Mr El-Rufai to go into his defence.
This implies the previous governor will now have to go into his defence if he chooses to contest the allegations.
Mr El-Rufai is dealing with corruption fees instituted towards him by way of the ICPC prior to two separate courts in Kaduna over his actions throughout his 8 years as governor. He’s additionally pursuing other human rights enforcement instances which arose from the movements of the ICPC relating to him and his members of the family since his detention by way of the fee in February. He not too long ago misplaced two of the instances.
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