A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected the no-case submission by the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, in his ongoing trial over an alleged unlawful interception of the telephone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
   
Dismissing the no-case submission yesterday on the grounds of sufficient evidence, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik asked el-Rufai to enter his defence, if he so wishes, and adjourned the case till November 25 for defence.
   
The former governor is being prosecuted by the Department of State Services (DSS) on a five-count amended charge.
   
Representing the prosecution during the hearing of the no-case submission on September 22, Oluwole Aladedoye, SAN, had faulted the no-case submission, urging the court to dismiss it and order the defendant to enter his defence.
   
He argued that the defendant failed to address Exhibit “B”, which he claimed contains el-Rufai’s admission regarding the tapping of Ribadu’s phone and effectively established a prima facie case against the defendant.
   
However, the defence lawyer, Akinyemi Aremu, while adopting his client’s no-case submission, argued that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against the ex-governor, thereby requiring him to be called upon to enter a defence.
   
El-Rufai opted for a no-case submission after the prosecution closed its case upon calling two witnesses – an operative of the DSS and a lawyer, Deji Adeyanju.