The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el’Rufai before a Federal High Court in Abuja for allegedly bugging the phone of the National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu.
He was charged on a five-count amended charge which included accessing the telephone conversation of Ribadu.
At the commencement of proceedings on Thursday, the prosecution informed the court that the charge had been amended from three counts to five-count.
Consequently, Joyce Abdulmalik, presiding judge, struck out the previous count.
El-Rufai pleaded not guilty to the five-count amended charge, after which Oluwole Aladeloye, counsel to the DSS, requested for trial dates.
Objecting, Oluwole Iyamu, counsel to el-Rufai, said he needs to engage with his client because he has been in the custody of multiple security agencies.
Iyamu told the court that the bail application had been filed on February 17 and that a further affidavit was recently filed.
Justice Abdulmalik said the further affidavit was not in her docket, and said Iyamu should have carried out his due diligence of filing the process rather than engaging in Nollywood theatrics of camera personnel taking pictures in her courtroom.
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The defendant’s lawyer said he did not invite the camera personnel.
The judge stood down the matter so the issue of the further affidavit could be sorted.
In February, during an interview on ‘Prime Time’, an Arise Television programme, el-Rufai said “someone wiretapped” Ribadu’s phone, allowing him to listen to the NSA instructing security operatives to effect his arrest.
“He made the call because we listened to their calls. The government thinks they are the only ones that listen to calls but we also have our ways. He made the call and gave the order,” el-Rufai had said.
“Someone tapped his phone. The government listens to our calls all the time without a court order. Someone tapped his phone and told us that he gave the order”, he had said.
