The arraignment of former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufa’i, was stalled yesterday, following his absence in court, with the trial judge, Justice Joyce AbdulMalik, adjourning proceedings to April 23, 2026.
At the resumed sitting, prosecution counsel, Oluwole Aladedoye, informed the court that although the matter was scheduled for arraignment, the defendant could not be produced, as he was currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). He urged the court to adjourn the matter to March 10 to enable the anti-graft agency to produce his client, adding that the DSS had no control over the ICPC, despite being a sister agency.
Meanwhile, Defence Counsel, Oluwole Iyamu, while he did not oppose the application for adjournment, told the court that based on discussions with the prosecution, the state would not oppose an application for bail.
The prosecution confirmed in open court that the offences charged were bailable.The defence subsequently applied for the bail application to be taken before further proceedings in the matter. However, the prosecution opposed the move, urging the court to defer consideration of bail for two weeks.
Iyamu argued that keeping the defendant in custody for two additional weeks would amount to suppression, stressing that his client had not been brought before the court for arraignment. He maintained that the defence did not take the defendant into custody and therefore could not produce him in court.
According to him, it would have been a different situation if the Department of State Services had custody of the defendant, suggesting that the circumstances surrounding his detention required judicial intervention. Relying on Section 159, counsel urged the court to exercise its powers to order the production of the defendant, regardless of which agency currently had custody of him.
Ruling on the submissions, Justice AbdulMalik held that since the defendant had not yet been arraigned, the issue of bail could not arise. Citing Section 156 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (2015), the judge described the bail application as premature. The court subsequently adjourned the matter to April 23, 2026, for arraignment.
According to the charge sheet filed at the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, the Federal Republic of Nigeria is listed as the complainant, while El-Rufai is named as the sole defendant.
Recall that the DSS had on February 16, 2026 slammed a three-count charge against el-Rufa’i before the Federal High Court in Abuja, accusing him of unlawfully intercepting the phone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribaɗu.
