BREAKING: Phone-tapping: Court orders El-Rufai to defend himself

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed the no-case submission filed by former Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.

El-Rufai is standing trial over alleged unlawful interception of telephone communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, in a ruling on Monday, held that the Department of State Services, DSS, has provided enough evidence to require the ex-governor to enter his defence.

The judge, therefore, ordered El-Rufai, the sole defendant in the charge, to open his defence.

El-Rufai, through his counsel, Akinyemi Aremu, had told the court that the prosecution failed to establish any case against him after the DSS closed its case with two witnesses.

But DSS lawyer, Oluwole Aladedoye, SAN, argued that the defence failed to address Exhibit “B” which contained El-Rufai’s alleged admission that he tapped Ribadu’s phone.