BREAKING: Court orders El-Rufai to defend Himself in phone-tapping trial

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the no-case submission filed by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over the alleged unlawful interception of telephone communications belonging to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, in a ruling on Monday, held that the Department of State Services, DSS, had presented sufficient evidence to require El-Rufai to enter his defence.

The judge subsequently ordered the former governor, who is the sole defendant in the case, to open his defence.

El-Rufai, through his counsel, Akinyemi Aremu, had argued that the prosecution failed to establish a case against him after the DSS closed its case with two witnesses.

However, the DSS counsel, Oluwole Aladedoye, SAN, argued that the defence had failed to address Exhibit B, which allegedly contained El-Rufai’s admission that he tapped Ribadu’s telephone.