A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday adjourned the arraignment of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai to April 23, after the accused could not be produced in court because he remains in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
Justice Joyce Abdumalik fixed the new date following a request by prosecution counsel Oluwole Aladedoye, who told the court the Department of State Services had no control over the ICPC despite both being sister agencies.
“The DSS had no control over the ICPC,” Aladedoye said.
Defence lawyer Oluwole Iyamu did not oppose the adjournment but criticised the continued detention, arguing that holding El-Rufai for two more weeks would amount to “suppression”. He added that the defence could not produce the defendant because they had not taken him into custody.
The court also ruled that any application for bail was premature since El-Rufai had not yet been formally arraigned, citing Section 156 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015.
El-Rufai faces a three-count charge filed by the DSS on February 16 for allegedly intercepting the phone communications of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu. The charges stem from his public admission during a February 13 television interview on Arise TV that he and others had tapped Ribadu’s line.
The former governor’s legal team has described the charges as “unconstitutional and an abuse of court process” and is seeking N2 billion in damages against the DSS for alleged harassment.
