Alex Enumah in Abuja
A witness for Department of State Services (DSS) in the trial of former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, on the alleged wiretapping of the telephone lines of National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has admitted that El-Rufai confirmed the wiretapping remarks during a television interview.
The witness said El-Rufai had appeared for an interview programme on Arise Television on February 16, the same day the former governor made the confession on the same television.
Deji Adeyanju, who testified as the second Prosecution Witness (PW2) on Monday, told Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a Federal High Court that the former governor admitted during the television interview that “we listened to the conversations of the NSA”.
Adeyanju, who was led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Oluwole Aladedoye, confirmed he knew El-Rufai as a former governor of Kaduna State and recalled issuing a public statement after reports emerged that the former governor was to be arrested by security operatives.
The prosecution tendered the subpoena used to summon Adeyanju, which was admitted and marked as Exhibit G.
Meanwhile, the court viewed the Arise Television interview involving El-Rufai, after which Adeyanju confirmed the recording and the statements allegedly made during the programme.
The prosecution subsequently tendered Adeyanju’s own interview contained in a flash drive alongside a certificate of compliance. Both were admitted in evidence as Exhibits H and H1.
While giving evidence, Adeyanju told the court that he was later invited by the Department of State Services (DSS), where he was asked to recount what transpired at the television studio.
According to him, he confirmed to investigators that he was present when El-Rufai made the statements on air and that when further questioned during the interview, the former governor stated that someone carried out the phone tapping and passed the information to him.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Paul Erokoro, SAN, the witness stated that while he did not hear El-Rufai specifically say he hacked the phone lines of the NSA, he heard him say, “we listened to the conversations of the NSA.”
When asked whether he knew the means through which the NSA made calls, and if he would be surprised to learn that DSS investigators did not ask the NSA which of his devices was allegedly compromised, he replied that those were not his business.
Meanwhile, the prosecution tendered an official gazette without objection from the defence. The document was admitted and marked as Exhibit I.
The matter was adjourned until June 23 for continuation of trial.
El-Rufai is standing trial over his alleged involvement in wiretapping the telephone lines of the NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
In the three-count charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, the former governor was alleged to have breached the Cybercrimes Prohibition Act, (2024), and the Nigerian Communications Act (2003).
