Phone-Tapping Case: Court Adjourns El-Rufai's Arraignment to April 23 Over Absence in Dock
The scheduled arraignment of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on charges of alleged unlawful interception of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu's phone communications, was stalled on Wednesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja. El-Rufai was absent from the proceedings before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, preventing the court from taking his plea on the three-count charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS). The charges, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, accuse the former governor of cybercrimes and violations under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act and the Nigerian Communications Act. They stem from statements El-Rufai allegedly made during a February television interview admitting involvement in the interception, which prosecutors claim threatened national security. Prosecution counsel informed the court that El-Rufai could not be produced because he remains in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offen...