COURT ORDERS NASIR EL-RUFAI TO ENTER DEFENCE IN ALLEGED PHONE-TAPPING CASE

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a no-case submission filed by former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai in a case involving alleged unlawful interception of telephone communications linked to National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik held that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence for the former governor to be called upon to respond to the allegations, the judge directed El-Rufai to enter his defence if he wished to do so. The case was brought by the Department of State Services, which presented two witnesses before the prosecution closed its case. El-Rufai subsequently filed a no-case submission, arguing through his lawyer that the evidence presented was insufficient to require him to enter a defence, the prosecution opposed the application, maintaining that the evidence warranted the continuation of the trial. After considering the submission, the court ruled that the case should proceed to the defence stage. A no-case submission is an application asking a court to terminate a case at the close of the prosecution’s evidence because the evidence is allegedly insufficient to justify requiring the defendant to respond, rejecting such an application does not establish that the defendant is guilty. Instead, it means the judge has determined that the case should proceed to the next stage under the applicable legal process. El-Rufai remains entitled to present his defence, and the allegations must be determined through the judicial process. Radio Nigeria Lagos reported that the case had been adjourned until November 25 for the defence stage, the proceedings are likely to remain under public scrutiny because of the identities of the individuals involved and the broader implications of allegations concerning telephone interception, the court’s eventual findings, rather than the rejection of the no-case submission alone, will determine the legal outcome.