Court grants El-Rufai N100m bail

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday granted bail to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, in the sum of N100 million over allegations relating to national security violations.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik outlined strict bail terms. The court stated that the surety must live in either Maitama or Asokoro and must submit the original Certificate of Occupancy for a landed property to the court.

Additionally, the surety is required to be a federal civil servant of at least Grade Level 17 and must present proof of salary payments for the past three months, verified by a bank manager within the court’s jurisdiction.

The judge further directed that the surety must file an affidavit of means, execute a bail bond, and provide a recent passport photograph.

El-Rufai was also instructed to surrender all his valid international passports to the court. The surety must submit a verification letter from their workplace and provide a tax clearance certificate covering the last six months.

As part of the bail conditions, the former governor is to report to the Department of State Services headquarters every last Friday of the month by 10 a.m. to sign an attendance register until the case is concluded.

The court warned that failure to comply with any of the conditions would lead to automatic revocation of the bail.

Justice Abdulmalik also ordered El-Rufai to present a letter of attestation from the Chairman of the Kaduna Traditional Council.

This development follows his arraignment by the DSS on an amended five-count charge linked to alleged national security breaches. Earlier, on April 23, he had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

During proceedings, DSS counsel Oluwole Aladedoye (SAN) informed the court of a revised five-count charge filed on April 13, replacing an earlier three-count charge.

One of the charges alleges that El-Rufai unlawfully intercepted communications belonging to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu an act said to violate provisions of the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2024.

Defence counsel Oluwole Iyamu (SAN) confirmed receipt of the amended charges and did not oppose the application. The court subsequently struck out the earlier charges and read the new ones, to which El-Rufai again pleaded not guilty.

The defence also referenced a pending bail application filed in February, noting that a previously missing affidavit had been located.

Although the DSS did not oppose bail, it urged the court to dismiss a separate defence application seeking to quash the amended charges.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court adjourned before eventually delivering its ruling granting bail.