El-Rufai files for no-case submission as prosecution closes evidence

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has indicated plans to file a no-case submission after the Department of State Services (DSS) closed its case in his ongoing trial over alleged breach of national security.

The development came on Tuesday during proceedings before the court, where counsel to the DSS, Oluwole Aladedoye, informed the judge that the prosecution would not be calling additional witnesses.

Aladedoye told the court that the DSS was satisfied with the evidence already presented, insisting that the materials before the court were sufficient to establish the charges against the former governor and former minister.

Following the prosecution’s announcement, counsel to el-Rufai, Paul Erokoro, informed the court that the defence would be filing a no-case submission. He argued that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case that would warrant the defendant being called upon to enter a defence.

Erokoro requested a two-week period to formally file the application, a request which was not opposed by the DSS, which also sought the same timeframe to respond.

During the proceedings, the defence also applied for a review of the bail conditions earlier imposed on el-Rufai, describing them as overly stringent and difficult to meet.

Specifically, the defence counsel challenged the requirement that the former governor must produce level 17 civil servants with property in highbrow Abuja districts such as Maitama or Asokoro as sureties, as well as verification and attestation letters from the Kaduna State Traditional Council.

Erokoro argued that the conditions were impractical and placed unnecessary restrictions on the defendant’s right to bail.

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However, counsel to the DSS, Aladedoye, opposed the application, urging the court to maintain the existing bail conditions.

In his ruling, Justice Abdulmalik declined the request for bail variation, holding that individuals who meet the requirements are available within the system and that the conditions were therefore not unreasonable.

The court subsequently adjourned proceedings to September 22 for the filing and hearing of the no-case submission.

El-Rufai is standing trial on a five-count amended charge filed by the DSS, bordering on allegations that he unlawfully intercepted telephone communications linked to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

The allegation stems from claims that a phone conversation involving the NSA was accessed without authorisation, an accusation el-Rufai has previously addressed publicly.

In an earlier interview on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme, the former governor alleged that “someone wiretapped” Ribadu’s phone, claiming that he overheard discussions in which security operatives were allegedly instructed regarding his planned arrest.

The court will now determine whether the prosecution has established sufficient grounds for the trial to proceed into the defence stage or whether the case will be dismissed at the no-case submission stage.