Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, has petitioned the court to drop the accusations the Department of State Services brought against him, calling the case an egregious abuse of the legal system and incompetence.
The Federal High Court is now considering the application that was submitted in answer to Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik will hear the case on February 25, 2026.
El-Rufai is requesting in the application to have the charge dated February 16, 2026, quashed or struck out on the grounds that it reveals no crime that is known to the law and is an abuse of the legal system.
Additionally, he is requesting that the court release him on the grounds that the charge does not present a sufficient case.
In addition, the former governor is suing the DSS for N2 billion in fees, claiming that the criminal justice system was used unlawfully to harass and humiliate him and that there had been “abuse and misuse of the court process.”
Court filings state that the motion, which cites 17 reasons for dismissal, contests the charges’ constitutionality on the basis that they fail to comply with statutory criteria and allege crimes that are not known to the law. Alleged dishonesty, lack of proof, prosecution incompetence, and accusations of political persecution and ill faith are further grounds.
The application also argues that the prosecution violated a number of constitutional provisions that violated El-Rufai’s fundamental rights, including Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the presumption of innocence; Section 36(11), which protects against self-incrimination; Section 36(12), which mandates that offenses be defined in written law; and Sections 39 and 40, which guarantee the freedom of expression and freedom of association, respectively.
In a letter dated February 18, El-Rufai’s legal team formally informed the Director-General of the DSS of the application, including the particulars of his attorney.
We previously reported that El-Rufai was scheduled to be arraigned by the DSS on February 25th for alleged cybercrime and national security breach.
The former governor has been charged with three counts of criminal activity by the DSS for allegedly illegally listening in on National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu’s phone conversation.
El-Rufai’s activities, according to the secret police, violated both the Nigerian Communications Act of 2003 and the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act of 2024.
On February 13, 2026, the former governor was a guest on Arise TV’s Prime Time Program in Abuja. According to the DSS, he and others illegally intercepted the NSA’s phone communications, which is against the law and punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
In count two, El-Rufai was charged with claiming in the same TV appearance that he was acquainted with someone who illegally collected the NSA’s phone conversations without informing the appropriate security organizations.
According to the DSS, Section 27(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, makes the claimed offense punishable.
In the live Arise TV interview, El-Rufai had stated that he had heard Ribadu ordering security personnel to hold him. He connected the purported order to what he described as an attempted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on February 12 after returning from Cairo, Egypt.
