The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed October 26 to rule on an application by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai seeking to terminate his trial over allegations that he unlawfully intercepted telephone communications involving National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

El-Rufai, through his legal team led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Paul Erokoro, asked the court to discharge and acquit him on the five-count amended charge filed against him by the Federal Government through the Department of State Services, DSS.

The former governor argued that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case requiring him to enter a defence. He described the charge as incompetent and urged Justice Joyce Abdulmalik to uphold his no-case submission and bring the proceedings to an end.

The prosecution, represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Oluwole Aladedoye, opposed the application and urged the court to direct El-Rufai to open his defence.

Aladedoye argued that the oral and documentary evidence already presented before the court was sufficient to connect the defendant with the allegations contained in the charge.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the matter until October 26 for ruling.

The Federal Government had earlier closed its case after presenting two witnesses before the court.

The case followed comments El-Rufai made during an appearance on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme in Abuja on February 13. The prosecution alleged that he admitted knowing and being associated with an individual who had unlawfully intercepted Ribadu’s telephone communications.

The former governor was also accused of failing to report the alleged interception to the appropriate security agencies. The alleged offence relating to national security and public safety was brought under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.

During the television interview, El-Rufai was discussing an alleged attempt by DSS operatives to abduct him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on February 12, 2026, following his return from Cairo.

He alleged that the DSS action was linked to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, and claimed the agency had received a directive from Ribadu to detain him. According to his account, the information had reached him through someone who had listened to the NSA’s telephone conversations.

Following the allegations that his comments amounted to an admission of illegal phone interception, El-Rufai filed an application seeking to have the charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, quashed.

He advanced 17 grounds in support of the application, arguing among other things that the DSS had improperly treated what he described as a casual remark during a television interview as a confession.

El-Rufai also argued that his television comments did not constitute a confessional statement under Nigerian law because they were not made under caution and were delivered during a voluntary public discussion rather than while he was in custody.

He maintained that a statement made during a television programme could not, in the circumstances, be treated as a judicial confession.

The court, however, declined to quash the charge and directed that the case proceed on an accelerated basis.

Separately, Justice Abdulmalik had on July 23 rejected El-Rufai’s earlier application seeking a variation of his bail conditions, which his lawyers had described as stringent.

His legal team had specifically challenged requirements that he produce Grade Level 17 civil servants with properties in Maitama or Asokoro, alongside verification and attestation letters from the Kaduna State traditional council.

The prosecution opposed the request, arguing that public officers capable of meeting the conditions were available to the defendant. The court subsequently declined to vary the original conditions, holding that they were intended to ensure his attendance throughout the trial.

El-Rufai served as Kaduna State governor from 2015 to 2023 and was previously Minister of the Federal Capital Territory during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.