ABUJA, Nigeria: Nigeria’s former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, will file a no-case submission after Nigeria’s Department of State Services closed its prosecution in his wiretapping trial at the Federal High Court on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
Okay News reports that defence counsel Paul Erokoro informed the court his client will argue the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to require a defence. This occurred after the prosecuting counsel, Oluwole Aladedoye, announced the agency would call no further witnesses.
The agency charged El-Rufai on an amended five count indictment for unlawful interception of communications and breach of national security. The prosecution alleged he violated Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes Prohibition Prevention Amendment Act, 2024, following a February interview on Arise Television where he claimed to have intercepted a telephone conversation involving Nuhu Ribadu regarding plans by security operatives to arrest him.
Erokoro applied to alter the bail conditions previously granted to the defendant, which required Level 17 civil servants with properties in the Maitama or Asokoro districts to act as sureties, alongside verification letters from the Kaduna State Traditional Council. The prosecution opposed the application, stating that public officers meeting the requirements exist.
Presiding Justice Joyce Abdulmalik declined the request to vary the conditions, ruling that civil servants owning properties in the specified areas can serve as sureties. The judge granted the defence two weeks to file the application and the prosecution two weeks to respond, adjourning the proceedings until September 22, 2026.
