Dare Babalola
A Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the case against former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, to April 23 for arraignment.
The DSS had filed a three-count charge against El-Rufai over alleged unlawful interception of a phone conversation, stemming from comments he made during a TV interview.
The court had previously set February 25 for the ex-minister’s arraignment.
At the court session on Wednesday, El-Rufai was absent.
The prosecution’s counsel, Oluwole Aladedoyin, informed the court that the former governor is presently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“Unfortunately, the defendant is with the ICPC, and I do not know how far the investigation with the ICPC has gone,” Aladedoyin said.
Aladedoyin requested a two-week adjournment to enable the prosecution to secure the defendant’s attendance in court, following the completion of the ICPC’s investigation.
Although Oluwole Iyamu, counsel to el-Rufai, did not oppose the application for arraignment, he sought to move an application seeking bail for his client.
Citing Section 158 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), Iyamu said the bail can be heard and granted even before a defendant is arraigned.
He said leaving the defendant in custody for another two weeks before considering bail would amount to “oppressive behaviour” by the prosecution.
The counsel said the DSS had the time to prepare for the case considering that the charge was filed since February 16. He also said he knew “for a fact” that the DSS handed over el-Rufai to the ICPC.
Responding, Aladedoyin rejected the submission that the former governor was taken into custody by the security service.
“May I correct the impression that we took the defendant to ICPC. We didn’t,” the prosecution counsel said.
“The defendant was initially detained by the EFCC. It is from the EFCC he was taken to the ICPC. He has never been in DSS custody.”
