DSS arraigns El-Rufai over alleged wiretapping of NSA’s phone

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has been arraigned by the Department of State Services (DSS) before a Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations that he unlawfully accessed a private telephone conversation involving the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

El-Rufai, who also served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), was brought before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Thursday on an amended five-count charge.

At the start of proceedings, the prosecution informed the court that the original three-count charge had been revised to five counts. The judge subsequently struck out the earlier charges and directed that the amended counts be read to the defendant.

According to a report by TheCable, El-Rufai pleaded not guilty to all five charges.

Following his plea, counsel to the DSS, Oluwole Aladeloye, urged the court to fix dates for trial.

However, defence counsel, Oluwole Iyamu, objected, stating that he needed time to confer properly with his client, who he said had been in the custody of several security agencies.

Iyamu also told the court that a bail application had earlier been filed on February 17, alongside a further affidavit submitted recently.

Justice Abdulmalik responded that the additional affidavit was not in the court’s file and criticised the defence for failing to ensure proper filing procedures were followed.

The judge also cautioned against what she described as “Nollywood theatrics” after noticing camera personnel taking photographs inside the courtroom.

In response, the defence lawyer said he was not responsible for inviting the photographers.

The court temporarily stood down the matter to allow the filing issue surrounding the affidavit to be resolved.

The case follows remarks made by el-Rufai in February during an interview on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme, where he alleged that Ribadu’s phone had been wiretapped, enabling him to hear conversations in which security operatives were allegedly instructed to arrest him.