BREAKING: Court Refuses To Hear Ex-Governor El-Rufai’s Bail Application, Adjourns Case To April 23
A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, February 25, declined to entertain a bail application filed by counsel to former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, ruling that the application was premature.
The presiding judge, Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik, held that the bail request was ‘immature’, insisting that the defendant must first be properly arraigned before the court could consider such an application.
She subsequently adjourned the matter to April 23, 2026, for arraignment.
The court was adjourned after the prosecution of the State Security Service (SSS) could not produce El-rufai in the court as he is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC)
His lawyer urged the court to grant him freedom while awaiting the next proceedings.
However, the prosecution counsel claimed that the former governor was not detained by the SSS, arguing that the court should not uphold the bail application as the accused was not properly arraigned.
The judge consequently declined to allow the counsel to move the application.
Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Bolaji Abdullahi, was present in court in solidarity with El-Rufai.
The hearing followed criminal charges filed against the former governor by the Federal Government over alleged unlawful interception of the phone communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
In a three-count charge instituted at the Federal High Court, Abuja, prosecutors accused El-Rufai of admitting during a February 13 appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme that he and unnamed associates unlawfully intercepted Ribadu’s communications.
The offence is said to be punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
The prosecution further alleged that the accused failed to report individuals responsible for the interception to security agencies and that he and others still at large deployed technical systems that compromised public safety and national security, contrary to provisions of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
Counsel from the SSS are listed as prosecutors in the matter.
The charges stemmed from El-Rufai’s public claim that he became aware of an alleged move to arrest him through information obtained from the tapping of Ribadu’s phone. During the television interview, he alleged that the NSA ordered his detention upon arrival in Nigeria, describing the move as an abduction attempt.
The ICIR reports that the former governor is also challenging the competence of the charge filed against him by the SSS.
In a motion on notice dated February 17, 2026, El-Rufai asked the Federal High Court to quash the three-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026 and discharge him on the grounds that it discloses no offence known to law and establishes no prima facie case.
He also asked the court to award N2 billion in damages against the SSS for what he described as an abuse and misuse of court process.
