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The Federal High Court in Abuja has 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.
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Justice Joyce Abdulmalik ruled that the Department of State Services (DSS) had presented sufficient evidence to require the former governor to enter his defence.
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The prosecution argued that Exhibit B contained an alleged admission by El-Rufai concerning the interception of Ribadu’s telephone communications.
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The ruling followed the DSS’s closure of its case after calling two witnesses, with the trial set to proceed to the defence stage.
October 26, (THEWILL) – The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday dismissed a no-case submission filed by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai in his trial over the alleged unlawful interception of the telephone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and ordered him to enter his defence.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, in her ruling, held that the Department of State Services (DSS) had presented sufficient evidence to warrant calling on the former governor to defend himself.
The judge consequently ordered El-Rufai, the sole defendant in the charge, to enter his defence after rejecting his application seeking the dismissal of the case.
The ruling followed the closure of the prosecution’s case, during which the DSS called two witnesses to testify against the former governor.
El-Rufai, through his counsel, Akinyemi Aremu, had urged the court to uphold his no-case submission, arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish sufficient evidence to require him to enter a defence.
However, the DSS opposed the application, insisting that the evidence presented before the court established a prima facie case against the defendant.
The prosecution counsel, Oluwole Aladedoye, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), adopted the prosecution’s counter-affidavit in opposition to the application.
Aladedoye argued that the defence had failed to address Exhibit B, which the prosecution said contained an alleged admission by El-Rufai concerning the tapping of Ribadu’s telephone.
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He maintained that the evidence before the court was sufficient to require the former governor to respond to the allegations.
Justice Abdulmalik dismissed the no-case submission, ruling that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to warrant calling on El-Rufai to enter his defence.
A no-case submission is an application by a defendant seeking the dismissal of a charge at the close of the prosecution’s case because the evidence presented is insufficient to require a defence.
The decision means the trial will proceed to the defence stage, where the former governor will have the opportunity to respond to the prosecution’s evidence.
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