Court adjourns El-Rufai’s arraignment to April 23

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned the arraignment of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to April 23 over allegations of unlawful interception of a telephone conversation.

The Department of State Services (DSS) had filed a three-count charge against the former governor following remarks he allegedly made during a television interview.

The court had earlier scheduled February 25 for his arraignment.

However, proceedings could not go ahead on Wednesday as the former governor was absent from court.

Prosecution counsel, Oluwole Aladedoyin, informed the court that the defendant is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

According to him, the prosecution required additional time to secure El-Rufai’s presence in court pending the conclusion of investigations by the anti-graft agency.

“Unfortunately, the defendant is with the ICPC, and I do not know how far the investigation with the ICPC has gone,” he said while requesting a two-week adjournment.

Although defence counsel, Oluwole Iyamu, did not oppose the request for adjournment, he urged the court to entertain a bail application on behalf of his client.

Citing provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), Iyamu argued that bail could be granted even before arraignment, stressing that keeping the former governor in custody pending arraignment would amount to oppressive treatment.

He noted that the prosecution had sufficient time to prepare its case since the charge was filed on February 16 and maintained that the DSS had transferred El-Rufai to the ICPC.

However, Aladedoyin rejected the claim, insisting that the DSS was not responsible for transferring the defendant.

“May I correct the impression that we took the defendant to ICPC. We didn’t,” he said.

According to the prosecution, El-Rufai was initially detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before being moved to the ICPC.
The court subsequently fixed April 23 for the arraignment.