Court plays El-Rufai’s Arise TV interview video as lawyer Adeyanju testifies in phone-tapping trial

A lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, testified as the second prosecution witness in the alleged phone-tapping case against former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai. The trial, presided over by Judge Joyce Abdulmalik at the Federal High Court in Abuja, centers on El-Rufai's claims made during a February 13 Arise TV interview.

Adeyanju told the court that the video recording of the interview accurately reflected what he witnessed. He identified El-Rufai as a prominent politician and former governor. The State Security Service (SSS) filed charges against El-Rufai in February after he alleged in the interview that he had listened to a phone conversation involving the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and that Ribadu had ordered his arrest. El-Rufai linked this to an incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on February 12.

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a very popular politician and former governor of Kaduna State

The former governor was arraigned on April 23 on five charges of illegal interception and pleaded not guilty. He was granted bail of 100 million naira. The trial commenced in May with the first prosecution witness, identified only as APC, testifying that security operatives monitored and preserved the television program recording as part of their investigation.

During Monday's hearing, Adeyanju presented his subpoena. The prosecution, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Oluwole Aladedoye, applied to tender the document as evidence, which El-Rufai's lawyer, Paul Erokoro, did not object to. Adeyanju recounted urging El-Rufai to present himself for investigation before the interview, emphasizing the matter was not politically motivated. He stated he was invited to Arise Television on February 13, the same day El-Rufai gave the interview, and countered many of El-Rufai's statements during his own segment on the program, deeming them untrue or half-truths.

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I went to Arise, and El-Rufai was also on the show. My segment came after his. During his interview, I listened to him speak on many issues, and I countered many of the things he said because they were not true or were half-truths.