El-Rufai’s freedom bid suffers fresh blow in phone-tapping case

By Tolulope Oke

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, failed on Tuesday to secure a review of the bail conditions keeping him in custody in his ongoing phone-tapping trial.

The Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed his application seeking variation of the conditions attached to the N100 million bail earlier granted him in the case filed by the State Security Service, SSS.

El-Rufai is standing trial over allegations that he unlawfully intercepted a telephone conversation involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik held that the bail conditions earlier imposed on the former governor were reasonable and intended to ensure his attendance at trial.

The court ruled that the application for variation lacked merit and dismissed it.

El-Rufai had asked the court to relax some of the conditions after failing to meet them despite what his lawyers described as frantic efforts.

One of the conditions required his surety to be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 17, resident in either Maitama or Asokoro district of Abuja, and to deposit the original Certificate of Occupancy of a landed property with the court registry.

The surety was also required to provide evidence of salary payments for at least three months, authenticated by a bank manager within the jurisdiction of the court.

El-Rufai’s lawyer, Paul Erokoro, SAN, told the court that the former governor had been unable to meet four of the bail conditions.

He argued that directors approached by the defence said they did not own properties in Maitama or Asokoro, adding that properties in the two highbrow Abuja districts cost far above what many senior civil servants could afford.

Erokoro urged the court to liberalise the bail terms, saying the defendant was not a flight risk.

“After all, the defendant’s children and family are known by everyone. Where is he running to?” he asked.

But the prosecution lawyer, Oluwole Aladedoye, SAN, opposed the application, insisting that a defendant in a criminal trial could not dictate bail conditions convenient for him.

He argued that El-Rufai, having served as minister and governor, should not have difficulty meeting the conditions.

In her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik said the defence failed to substantiate its claim that properties in Maitama and Asokoro were valued between N3 billion and N20 billion.

The judge said no evidence was placed before the court to support the claim that the property requirement was impossible to meet.

She also maintained that the conditions were reasonable, considering El-Rufai’s standing in society.

The court adjourned the case till September 22.

Earlier during Tuesday’s proceedings, the prosecution closed its case after calling two witnesses.

Aladedoye informed the court that the SSS did not intend to call further witnesses.

One of the prosecution witnesses, lawyer and activist Deji Adeyanju, had testified that he was at Arise Television in Abuja when El-Rufai granted the interview in which he allegedly said, “we listened to their call.”

Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, El-Rufai’s lawyer said the defence would file a no-case submission, seeking the dismissal of the charges without calling witnesses.

The SSS filed the charges against El-Rufai after he claimed during a television interview that he listened to a phone conversation involving Ribadu.

The agency accused him of unlawful interception of communication, obtaining classified information and using technical equipment in a manner that allegedly compromised public safety and national security.

El-Rufai was arraigned on April 23 on five counts and pleaded not guilty.