Tag: El-Rufai

 

The Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday arraigned former Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State for allegedly intercepting the phone conversations of the telephone line of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

El-Rufai, who was arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja on a five-count further amended charge, pleaded not guilty to all the counts.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the charge is marked: FHC/ABJ/99/2026.

When the case was called, DSS lawyer, Oluwole Aladedoye, SAN, informed the court that the matter was fixed for the defendant to take his plea.

Aladedoye, however, told the court that a further amended five-count charge was filed on April 13.

The lawyer prayed the court to substitute it with the earlier three-count charge.

“We pray that the earlier charge be struck out my lord,” he said.

Responding, El-Rufai’s counsel, Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, said he had been served with the amended charge and that he was not opposing.

The judge then struck out the earlier three-count charge.

After the counts were read to the former governor, he pleaded not guilty and Aladedoye sought a three consecutive trial dates.

Iyamu, however, objected to an application for a three consecutive days for commencement of the trial.

He submitted that since the defendant had been in the custody of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), having access to him within the three days of the trial might be difficult.

According to him, the three days might not be in our best interest.

Iyamu also informed the court of their bail application filed on Feb. 17.

However, the further affidavit in support of the bail application was not in the court file and the judge stood down the matter for Iyamu to do the needful.

Upon resumed hearing, Iyamu moved the bail application and urged the court to grant their prayers.

Aladedoye did not oppose the bail request.

But he prayed the court to set conditions that would ensure that the defendant presents himself for trial.

Aladedoye proceeded to also move a motion seeking an order to conceal the identities of two of the five witnesses to be called by the prosecution.

He said the prosecution desires that the identities of the two witnesses should not appear in public or court records and they should be identified with pseudonyms during trial.

Aladedoye said the application was informed by the belief that should their identities be revealed, the said witnesses, who are officials of the DSS, and members of their families would be exposed to danger and could be attacked by persons sympathetic to the defendant.

Iyamu objected to the application and argued that it was the constitutional right of a defendant to know his accusers.

He further submitted that there was no evidence before the court showing that El-Rufai had any cult-like followership or posed a threat.

The defence lawyer said the defendant had dedicated his life to public service and warned that granting a blanket anonymity order could create serious prejudice against the defendant.

Iyamu also moved an application in which he is praying for an order directing the prosecution to furnish the defence with proof of evidence to prepare for trial, an application Aladedoye also opposed.

Aladedoye argued that the materials sought by the defence were documents unrelated to the processes filed by the prosecution.

El-Rufai’s lawyer also moved another application in which the defendant is praying for the quashing of the charge.

Aladedoye, however, objected to the request, arguing that the application lacked merit.

He urged the court to dimiss the application in its entirety.

Ruling, Justice Abdulmalik issued an order for a accelerated hearing of the case and adjourned the matter until May 18, May 19 and May 20 for ruling on all pending applications and for the prosecution to open its trial.

The judge also ordered that the defendant, who was brought from the custody of ICPC in relation to a separate case, should be remanded in the custody of the DSS.

She ordered that the defence lawyers should comply with the operating procedure of the DSS and that the officials of the DSS should cooperate with the defence lawyers to enable them prepare his defence.

However, after the judge made the order, Iyamu called the attention of the court to the fact that El-Rufai was brought from the ICPC’s custody.

The lawyer, who told the court that the ex-governor was in the anti-corruption commission’s detention on the order of two Kaduna courts, expressed their frustration.

Responding, Justice Abdulmalik held that it is the practice that all institutions confer among one another to sort out contentious issues.

She said since the DSS is the prosecution before her, she could only direct the secret police to afford the defendant necessary facilities to meet with his lawyers.

“I don’t have to read social media to determine my case.

“So I want the journalists here to quote me correctly.

“I use the matters before my court to determine my cases,” the judge said.

In count one the ex-governor was alleged to have intentionally and unlawfully interfered with the communication of the NSA, Mr Ribadu, which constitutes Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).

It said this is contained in Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, 2024 gazetted as Statutory Instrument No. 21 of 2024, as admitted by El-Rufai on Feb. 13, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV Station’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja.

The offence is contrary to Paragraph 7 (b) & (c) of the Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, 2024 and punishable under Section 5 (1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment Act, 2024.

 

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, adjourned a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by former Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State against Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and four others until March 25 for hearing.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned the case to allow parties in the suit regularise their processes.

El-Rufai is demanding a N1 billion in damages against ICPC, the Chief Magistrate at the Magistrate’s Court of the FCT, Abuja; Inspector-General (I-G) of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), named as 1st to 4th respondents respectively.

When the base was called, Ubong Akpan, who appeared for El-Rufai, informed the court that the mater was fixed for hearing.

However, he said they had just responded to ICPC’s counter affidavit but yet to respond to the I-G’s.

Abdulsufiano Abubakar, ICPC’s lawyer, and the police counsel, Ezekiel Rimamsomte, confirmed Akpan’s submission.

Justice Abdulmalik consequently adjourned the matter until March 25 for hearing.

The judge ordered that the 2nd respondent (Chief Magistrate) and 4th respondent (AGF), who were not represented in court, be issued and served with hearing notices.

The former governor, in an originating motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, dated and filed Feb. 20 by Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, sought seven reliefs.

He prayed the court to declare that the invasion and search of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on Feb. 19 at about 2pm by the and ICPC and I-G, amounts to a gross violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights .

He said that it was a violation to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution.”

He urged the court to declare that “any evidence obtained pursuant to the aforesaid invalid warrant and unlawful search is inadmissible in any proceedings against the applicant, as it was procured in breach of constitutional safeguards.”

El-Rufai, therefore, sought an order of injunction restraining the respondents and their agents from further relying on, using, or tendering any evidence or items seized during the unlawful search in any investigation, prosecution, or proceedings involving him.

He sought an order directing the Ist and 3rd respondents (ICPC and I-G) to forthwith retum all items seized from the applicant’s premises during the unlawful search, together with a detailed inventory thereof.

He also sought an order awarding the sum of N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira) as general, exemplary, and aggravated damages, among others.

Responding, in its counter affidavit, the ICPC said it received a petition against El-Rufai and acting on the petition, it commenced an investigation, leading to the search at his residence.

It argued that its operatives acted under a valid search warrant issued on Feb. 18 and executed on Feb. 19 between 1:37pm and 3:56pm at 12 Mambilla Street, Asokoro, Abuja.

The commission said its officials were accompanied by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force, and that the exercise was witnessed by El-Rufai’s wife, Hadiza El-Rufai, and his son, Mohammed El-Rufai.

The ICPC, which urged the court to dismiss the suit, listed the items allegedly recovered from the residence.

The police, also in its counter affidavit deposed to by Insp Ewa Anthony, argued that it had the statutory power to detect, arrest, investigate and prosecute offenders.

It argued that the search carried out at El-Rufai’s residence was executed pursuant to a search warrant issued by a competent court of law.

It disagreed with the ex-governor that that search warrant was invalid, insisting that it was a genuine court order.

It said that its officers who carried out the operation, complied with all applicable legal procedures in the execution of the search warrant.

According to the police, the applicant is trying to use the honourable court to shield him away from the security investigation and prosecution in the court of law.

It, therefore, prayed the court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.

 

MUSLIM RIGHTS CONCERN (MURIC)

‎

 

‎‎A civil liberties advocacy group, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has raised questions about the alleged bleeding nose of the former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai who is currently in the custody of a security agency.

The group also wanted to know if this development was responsible for his absence in court on the day of his expected arraignment.

‎‎The questions were raised in a statement circulated to the press on Saturday, 7th March, 2026 by the Executive Director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

‎‎He said further:

‎‎”Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, reportedly suffered from a bleeding nose recently while still in the custody of one of the security agencies. To date, there has been no comment on this ugly development from official quarters.

‎‎”El-Rufai’s bleeding nose may be as a result of brutalisation in custody or due to denial of access to his medicine. We also want to know if this ugly development was responsible for his absence in court on the day of his expected arraignment.

‎‎”The Muslim Rights Concern is concerned because the Nigerian project is the joint responsibility of all its citizens. Ditto for the security and welfare of its citizens, particularly those in detention.

‎‎”It is the duty of human rights groups and the rest of civil society to interrogate the actions and inactions of security agencies and to ensure transparency and accountability in their handling of suspects.

‎‎”The case of a detainee suffering a bleeding nose should naturally attract questions. Mallam El-Rufai is a former minister and a former state governor. He is therefore a respected citizen of this country. We believe that he deserves decent treatment no matter the charges he is facing. Those charges are there for the courts to determine their weight and merit.

“It is in the interest of the jamaahiir (poor masses) of this great country to be worried if, allegedly, a former minister and former governor cannot get decent treatment. The next question should be: what if it is an ordinary Nigerian? That is why we are asking questions.

There can be no future for this country if we all forget those in detention particularly those whose detention seem to have political undercurrent.

‎‎”We assert clearly, unequivocally and emphatically that Mallam El-Rufai deserves good treatment and access to his medical doctor and medicine. It was therefore disturbing to hear that his wife who brought food for him sometime ago was not allowed to hand over the food to him directly but through his captors. This is a dangerous trend that even kindergarten kids understand its implications (https://dailytrust.com/el-rufais-nose-bled-in-detention-wife-prevented-from-delivering-his-meal-aide/).

‎‎”Our security agencies will benefit immensely from civility, humility and high level professionalism in their treatment of suspects. An Hitlerian age Gestapo style will only create a wide gulf between the security agencies and the citizens while giving the false optics of a banana republic in the minds of Nigerians and outsiders.

‎‎”We remind the handlers of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of the need to respect his Allah-given fundamental human rights. In particular, we are concerned about his right to the Dignity of the Human Person as guaranteed in Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which says ‘No person shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment’.”

“We note with concern that supporters of El-Rufai have staged protests in Kaduna. Yet we are relieved that the protests have been peaceful so far. We appeal to all to remain peaceful, calm and law-abiding.”

 

 

 

Former Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State’s rights enforcement suit against Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and four others suffered a setback on Tuesday due to the inability of his lawyer to serve the respondents.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that El-Rufai is demanding a N1 billion in damages against ICPC (1st respondent) and others.

They include the Chief Magistrate at the Magistrate’s Court of the FCT, Abuja; Inspector-General (I-G) of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), named as 2nd to 4th respondents respectively.

The matter, which was before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja, could not proceed shortly after it was called.

Upon resumed hearing, only Ubong Akpan, the counsel, who appeared for the ex-govenor, was in court, as there was no representation for the resoondents.

Akpan, therefire, informed the court that though the matter was scheduled for mention, they had been unable to serve the redpondents.

He sought an adjournment to enable them do the needful and Justice Abdulmalik fixed March 11 for further mention.

NAN reports that El-Rufai, through his team of lawyers led by Oluwole Iyamu, SAN, is praying the court to declare that the search warrant issued on Feb. 4 by the Chief Magistrate, Magistrate’s Court of the FCT (2nd respondent), authorising the search and seizure at his residence was invalid, null and void.

He is asking the court to declare that the search warrant is “null and void for lack of particularity, material drafting errors, ambiguity in execution parameters, overbreadth, and absence of probable cause thereby constituting an unlawful and unreasonable search in violation of Section 37 of the Constitution.”

The former governor, in the originating motion on notice marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, dated and filed Feb. 20 by Iyamu, sought seven reliefs.

He prayed the court to declare that the invasion and search of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, on Feb. 19 at about 2pm and executed by agents of ICPC and I-G, “under the aforesaid invalid warrant, amounts to a gross violation of the applicant’s fundamental rights to dignity of the human person, personal liberty, fair hearing, and privacy under Sections 34, 35, 36, and 37 of the Constitution.”

He urged the court to declare that “any evidence obtained pursuant to the aforesaid invalid warrant and unlawful search is inadmissible in any proceedings against the applicant, as it was procured in breach of constitutional safeguards.”

El-Rufai, therefore, sought an order of injunction restraining the respondents and their agents from further relying on, using, or tendering any evidence or items seized during the unlawful search in any investigation, prosecution, or proceedings involving him.

“An order directing the Ist and 3rd respondents (ICPC and I-G) to forthwith retum all items seized from the applicant’s premises during the unlawful search, together with a detailed inventory thereof.

“An order awarding the sum of N1,000,000,000.00 (One Billion Naira) as general, exemplary, and aggravated damages against the respondents jointly and severally for the violations of the applicant’s fundamental rights, including trespass, unlawful seizure, and the resultant psychological trauma, humiliation, distress, infringement of privacy, and reputational harm.”

El-Rufai did the breakdown of the N1 billion in damages to include “a N300 million as compensatory damages for psychological trauma, emotional distress, and loss of personal security;

“A N400 million as exemplary damages to deter future misconduct by law enforcement agencies and vindicate the applicant’s rights.

“A N300 million as aggravated damages for the malicious, high-handed and oppressive nature of the respondents’ actions, including the use of a patently defective warrant procured through misleading representations.”

He equally sought a N100 million as cost of filing the suit, including legal fees and associated expenses.

In his grounds of argument, the senior lawyer argued that the search warrant was fundamentally defective, lacking specificity in the description of items to be seized, containing material typographical errors, ambiguous execution terms, overbroad directives, and no verifiable probable cause.

He said this was in contravention of Sections 143-148 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015; Section 36 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) Act, 2000, and constitutional protections against arbitrary intrusions.

Specifically, Iyamu argued that Section 143 of the ACJA requires that an application for a search warrant be supported by information in writing and on oath, setting forth reasonable grounds for suspicion, which was absent here as evidenced by the incomplete initiating clause;

He said Section 144 mandates particular descriptions of the place to be searched and the items sought, to prevent general warrants.

He, however, argued that the instant warrant vaguely referred to “the thing aforesaid” without any detail.

Iyamu stated that the execution of the invalid warrant on Feb. 19 resulted in an unlawful invasion of his client’s premises, constituting violations of the rights to dignity (Section 34), personal liberty (Section 35), fair hearing (Section 36), and privacy (Section 37) of the Constitution.

He further argued that the search was conducted without legal justification and in a manner that inflicted humiliation and distress.

 

By Danladi Ahmed

The Democratic Front (TDF) has accused former Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir el-Rufai of making spurious allegations against the federal government and the National Security Adviser, as part of a deliberate and calculated ploy to stir tension in the country.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Mallam Danjuma Muhammad and Secretary, Chief Wale Adedayo, it urged the authorities to ensure that the law takes its course now that he has been charged in court.

“We consider El rufai’s behavior as rascally, uncouth, and irresponsible because his claims on the importation of Thallium Sulphate (a toxic compound capable of killing humans in small doses), by the Office of National Security Adviser is not only false, but also politically intended to mislead the public over his alleged diversion of N432 billion from the Treasury of Kaduna State Government.

“It is morally wrong and irresponsible for a politically exposed individual like the former Kaduna Governor to come into the public space with such a weighty accusation without relevant documents and details to back up his claims.

“It is even more disheartening that he publicly admitted to being privy to the illegal and criminal tapping of the telephone number of the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, in a desperate bid to gain access to the NSA’s private conversations.

“This, in our view, is a criminal breach of national security. And an irresponsible act from a self-acclaimed law-abiding public figure.

“We are however glad to note that the Federal Government has swiftly instituted legal actions against Malam el Rufai over the matter.

“We are also amazed that el Rufai who served as Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory Minister and two-term Governor of Kaduna State, will exhibit such ignorance of due process on official correspondence, by failing to wait for a reply to the letter he sent to the NSA, over the alleged Importation of Thallium Sulphate, before he inundated the public space with unverified allegations that were clearly intended to spark anxiety, tension, and possible unrest in the country.

” We have every reason to believe that he sparked controversy around the alleged importation of Thallium Sulphate, to distract attention from the ongoing investigations into the N 432 billion he allegedly diverted and misappropriated when he was Governor of Kaduna State.

“It is also pertinent to recall that the Kaduna State House of Assembly, through its report to the EFCC in 2024, alleged that the sum of N432 billion was diverted through several channels, between 2015 and 2023, by former Governor el Rufai. The ruse about Thallium Sulphate importation is therefore a deliberate ploy to undermine EFCC’s investigation on the matter, and to give the exercise a wrong public connotation of political persecution of an opposition politician.”

The group added that it found El Rufai’s conduct unbecoming and unacceptable for the calibre of political leader he claims to be.

End