The planned arraignment of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over allegations that he unlawfully intercepted the telephone communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was stalled on Wednesday.
Proceedings before the Federal High Court in Abuja could not go on after the Department of State Services (DSS) failed to present the former governor in court for his trial.
El-Rufai had initially been taken into custody by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is separately probing him over alleged money laundering. He was later transferred to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). While under ICPC custody, the court granted permission for the DSS to arraign him on a three-count charge relating to alleged threats to national security.
When the matter was mentioned on Wednesday, the court was informed that the ICPC still had custody of the defendant, preventing his appearance. In light of the situation, trial judge Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned the case until April 23.
El-Rufai, who served as Kaduna State governor from 2015 to 2023 and previously held office as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, had been scheduled to enter his plea before Justice Abdulmalik.
In the charge filed by a five-member prosecution team from the DSS led by M. E. Ernest, the agency alleged that El-Rufai conspired with individuals currently at large to commit the offence. According to the charge, the former governor stated during a February 13 appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme in Abuja that he associated with others who unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s telephone communications. The prosecution argued that this amounted to an offence under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
The DSS further claimed that during the television interview, El-Rufai acknowledged knowing an individual who had illegally accessed the NSA’s phone conversations but failed to report the act to security authorities. That omission, the agency contended, constituted an offence under Section 27(b) of the amended Cybercrimes Act.
Additionally, prosecutors alleged that he collaborated with others still at large to deploy technical devices in a manner that endangered public safety and national security, creating widespread fear among Nigerians as a result of the alleged phone interception. This, they said, violated Section 131(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
The controversy followed El-Rufai’s earlier claim that DSS operatives attempted to “abduct” him at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on February 12, 2026, after he returned from Cairo. He alleged that the ICPC, acting on directives from Ribadu, had instigated the security agency to detain him. According to him, he learned of the alleged directive through someone who had listened to the NSA’s phone conversations.
In a motion challenging the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, El-Rufai presented 17 grounds urging the court to dismiss the case. He argued that the charge was legally flawed and incompetent, insisting that the DSS lacked the authority to interpret what he described as a casual comment made during a television interview as a confession to phone tapping.
He maintained that his remarks on Arise TV did not amount to a confessional statement in law. For a statement to qualify as a confession, he argued, it must be made voluntarily under caution and in line with established judicial guidelines. According to him, his comments were made in the course of an open and voluntary public discussion, without any caution or the legal safeguards applicable to suspects in custody.
El-Rufai therefore contended that a casual observation during a televised programme could not be transformed into a judicial confession as alleged by the prosecution.