Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai hugged and kissed his wife at the Federal High Court in Abuja shortly before his trial over the alleged interception of phone conversations belonging to National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
The brief exchange, which took place on the court premises, attracted the attention of lawyers and supporters present before the former governor entered the courtroom.
However, the moment came ahead of a setback for El-Rufai, as Justice Joyce Abdulmalik dismissed his no-case submission and directed him to open his defence.
The court held that the Department of State Services (DSS) had presented sufficient evidence to require the former governor to respond to the allegations against him.
El-Rufai had filed the application after the DSS concluded its case with the testimony of two witnesses, arguing that the prosecution had failed to establish a case requiring him to defend himself.
His counsel, Akinyemi Aremu, urged the court to discharge his client, maintaining that the evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient to warrant a defence.
Exhibit B
However, DSS counsel Oluwole Aladedoye (SAN) opposed the application, relying on the prosecution’s counter-affidavit and drawing the court’s attention to Exhibit B.
Aladedoye argued that the exhibit contained an admission by El-Rufai concerning the alleged interception of Ribadu’s phone conversations. He urged the court to dismiss the no-case submission, insisting that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against the former governor.
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In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik agreed with the prosecution that the evidence presented was sufficient to require El-Rufai to enter his defence.
The ruling does not amount to a conviction. It means the trial will proceed to the defence stage, where the former governor will have the opportunity to respond to the allegations.
El-Rufai is standing trial over the alleged interception of the NSA’s phone communications, an allegation he has yet to answer at the defence stage of the proceedings.