A former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has filed an application asking the court to quash charges instituted against him by the Department of State Services, describing the case as incompetent and a gross abuse of court process.
The application was filed in response to Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026 is pending before the Federal High Court. The matter is scheduled for hearing on February 25, 2026, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
In the motion, El-Rufai is seeking an order quashing or striking out the charge dated February 16, 2026, on the grounds that it discloses no offence known to law and constitutes an abuse of the judicial process.
He is also asking the court to discharge him on the basis that the charge fails to establish a prima facie case.
Additionally, the former governor is seeking N2 billion in costs against the DSS, alleging what he described as the “abuse and misuse of the court process” and the unconstitutional use of the criminal justice system to harass and embarrass him.
According to the court documents, the motion, which lists 17 grounds for dismissal, challenges the constitutional validity of the charges, arguing that they cite offences not known to law and fail to meet statutory requirements. Other grounds include alleged duplicity, absence of evidence, lack of prosecutorial competence, and claims of bad faith and political persecution.
The application further contends that the prosecution violates several constitutional provisions that breached El-Rufai’s fundamental rights, including Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees the presumption of innocence; Section 36(11), which provides for the right against self-incrimination; Section 36(12), which requires that offences be defined in written law; as well as Sections 39 and 40, which guarantee the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association, respectively.
El-Rufai’s legal team said it notified the Director-General of the DSS of the application through a letter dated February 18, formally communicating the filing and the details of his counsel.
PUNCH Online had reported that the DSS had fixed February 25 to arraign El-Rufai over alleged cybercrime and breach of national security.
The DSS had filed a three-count criminal charge against the former governor, accusing him of unlawfully intercepting the telephone conversation of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The secret police alleged that El-Rufai’s actions contravened provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
In the first count, the DSS alleged that the former governor, on February 13, 2026, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja, admitted during the interview that he and others unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of the NSA, an offence said to be contrary to, and punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
In count two, El-Rufai was accused of stating during the same television interview that he knew and related with an individual who unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s phone communications without reporting the person to relevant security agencies.
The DSS said the alleged offence is punishable under Section 27(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
El-Rufai had, during the live Arise TV interview, claimed that he overheard Ribadu directing security operatives to detain him, linking the alleged directive to what he described as an attempted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on February 12 upon his return from Cairo, Egypt.
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