The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday replayed an interview granted by former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as human rights lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, testified in the alleged phone-tapping case brought against him by the Department of State Services.
Testifying before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, Adeyanju said the video accurately reflected what he witnessed during a February 13 Arise Television programme in which El-Rufai made claims about an alleged intercepted phone conversation involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Adeyanju told the court he appeared on the same programme as El-Rufai and later gave a statement to the DSS, confirming that the former governor had claimed someone obtained information from a tapped phone conversation.
At the prosecution’s request, the court replayed the interview, after which Adeyanju affirmed its authenticity. The court also admitted a subpoena summoning him to testify, as well as a flash drive containing his interview and a certificate of compliance.
In the recorded interview, Adeyanju argued that if the government intended to arrest El-Rufai, security operatives would have done so at the airport. He also called for an investigation into corruption allegations against the former governor.
During cross-examination, defence counsel Paul Erokoro (SAN) asked whether El-Rufai explicitly admitted tapping a phone call. Adeyanju replied that El-Rufai had stated, “We listened to their calls.”
Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case until June 23 for the continuation of trial.
The DSS filed a five-count charge against El-Rufai in February after he claimed during a television interview that he had intercepted a phone conversation involving Ribadu, which allegedly revealed plans by security agencies to arrest him. The former governor pleaded not guilty and was granted N100 million bail.
