Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to quash the phone call interception charges filed against him by the State Security Service (SSS).
Mr El-Rufai’s media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, shared details of the request in a statement on Tuesday, noting that the former governor remains in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
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This comes ahead of the scheduled arraignment of Mr El-Rufai on the phone interception charges before trial judge Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mr El-Rufai’s application, filed on 17 February, challenges the charges in the case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026 instituted by the SSS.
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The SSS filed the charges following Mr El-Rufai claim on an Arise Television programme that he, with someone, intercepted National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu’s phone call to listen to his order for his arrest.
In his motion on notice challenging the charges, Mr El-Rufai asked the court to quash or strike out the charges dated 16 February 2026 on the grounds that they are incompetent, disclose no offence known to law, and constitute what he described as a gross abuse of court process.
He also sought an order discharging him on the basis that the charges do not disclose a prima facie case against him.
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In addition, Mr El-Rufai has asked the court to award N2 billion in costs against the SSS for what he described as abuse and misuse of court process and the unconstitutional deployment of the criminal justice system to harass, embarrass and publicly victimise him.
According to the statement, the motion cited 17 grounds for the dismissal of the charges.
Other grounds listed are alleged fatal duplicity, absence of evidence, lack of prosecutorial competence, violation of the constitutional right against self-incrimination, bad faith, political persecution and abuse of court process.
The ex-governor’s lawyers further argued that the prosecution breached his fundamental rights as guaranteed under the Constitution, including the presumption of innocence under Section 36(5), the right against self-incrimination under Section 36(11), the requirement under Section 36(12) that offences be defined in written law, as well as the rights to freedom of expression and association under Sections 39 and 40.
Another suit against ICPC
Mr El-Rufai filed the suit amid a separate legal action he instituted against the ICPC, which is holding him in custody over an ongoing corruption investigation.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that the former governor sued the ICPC for N1 billion on Friday over a recent reported raid on his Abuja residence by the operatives of the anti-corruption agency.
He filed the suit through his lawyer, Oluwole Iyamu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), suing the ICPC alongside a chief magistrate.of Magistrate’s Court of the FCT, Abuja Magisterial District; the Inspector-General of Police and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
Mr El-Rufai asked the court to declare that the search warrant issued on 4 February by the chief magistrate authorising the search of his residence at House 12, Mambilla Street, Aso Drive, Abuja, as invalid, null and void.
He contended that the warrant lacked particularity, contained material drafting errors, was ambiguous in its execution parameters, overbroad in scope, and unsupported by probable cause.
According to him, the alleged defects rendered the warrant unconstitutional and in breach of Section 37 of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended), which guarantees the right to privacy.
The ICPC, which arrested Mr El-Rufai last Wednesday as he was leaving the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja, raided the former governor’s house in the capital city on Thursday in connection with ongoing corruption investigations.
Both the ICPC and the EFCC have yet to file charges against him.
But they have shown renewed interests in Mr El-Rufai in the last few months.
The former governor, a fierce critic of the President Bola Tinubu administration who dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) last year, had an altercation with security agents at the airport in Abuja upon his return to the country last week over a reported attempt to arrest him.
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Mr El-Rufai would later told the Arise Television that the NSA’s order was behind the alleged attempt to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on 12 February.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Mr El-Rufai was involved in a heated verbal exchange with security operatives at the Abuja airport shortly after he arrived in the country.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has now fixed Wednesday (25 February) for his arraignment on the phone interception charges.
Although, the ICPC confirmed Mr El-Rufai’s arrest by its agents on 18 February, it has yet to comment on the raid on his home or release him from custody.
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