Court adjourns El-Rufai’s arraignment to April 23

The arraignment of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was on Wednesday, February 25, stalled at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, after the defence failed to produce the defendant in court.

El-Rufai is facing a three-count charge brought against him by the Department of State Services, over alleged wiretapping of the phone of the National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu.

At the hearing of the case today. the Defence counsel, Oluwole Iyamu, told the court that his client was in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and could not be brought for arraignment.

Iyamu urged the court to adjourn the matter to enable his production, and pressed for the bail application to be heard, noting that the prosecution had indicated it would not oppose bail as the offences were bailable.

However, the prosecution, led by Oluwole Aladedoye, asked the court to defer the bail request, arguing that the defendant had not yet been arraigned.

In a brief ruling, Justice Joyce Abdumalik held that since the defendant had not been formally arraigned, the bail application was premature.

The court subsequently adjourned the matter to April 23, 2026, for arraignment.