The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed October 26, 2026, to give judgment on the no-case submission filed by Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, in the case pertaining to alleged unlawful interception of telephone conversations.
Joyce Abdulmalik, the presiding judge, on Tuesday, adjourned ruling on the no-case submission application after arguments from counsel.
During the proceedings, Paul Erokoro, counsel to el-Rufai, asked the court to discharge and acquit the former governor of the five-count amended charge.
Erokoro argued that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case to warrant the court compelling el-Rufai to enter a defence to the charge.
El-Rufai’s counsel prayed the court to uphold the no-case submission and terminate further proceedings on the matter.
Opposing the no-case submission, Oluwole Aladedoye, the prosecution counsel, asked the court to dismiss the application and order the defendant to open his defence.
Aladedoye said the oral and documentary evidence laid before the court was sufficient to try the defendant to the allegations against him.
El-Rufai is standing trial on a five-count amended charge filed by the DSS over allegations that he unlawfully intercepted telephone conversations linked to Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser.
The federal government had closed its case after presenting two witnesses.
In February 2026, during an interview on ‘Prime Time’, an Arise Television programme, el-Rufai said “someone wiretapped” Ribadu’s phone, allowing him to listen to the NSA instructing security operatives to effect his arrest.