By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, is to remain in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), even as the Federal High Court in Kaduna will rule on his bail application on April 14.
El-Rufai was brought to the court on Wednesday, April 1, by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for his bail application.
However, he was taken away from the court premises by operatives of the DSS after the court announced the date for his bail application.
The former governor and Joel Adoga were arraigned on March 24 by the ICPC on charges bordering on alleged fraud and money laundering, to which they pleaded not guilty.
Speaking after the court proceedings, Oluwole Iyamu, the lead counsel to El-Rufai, said the defence team is hopeful about the expected ruling of the court regarding the bail application.
“The bail application was argued and responded to, and the ruling has been fixed for April 14. We look forward to that day. We are hopeful.
“We have put our arguments before the court, and this is a court of justice. We await the decision of the court,” he said.
On the DSS case against the former governor, scheduled for April 10 at the Federal High Court in Abuja, Iyamu said all necessary processes have been filed.
He said, “That is a separate matter. As lawyers, we are ready. We have filed all necessary processes and will be in court. That is the DSS matter.”
The DSS had, in February, filed a three-count charge against El-Rufai over alleged unlawful interception of the telephone conversation of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadua, following comments he made during an interview on Arise Television.
In a related development, El-Rufai and one Amadu Sule were arraigned before the Kaduna State High Court sitting in Kawo on Tuesday, March 31, on allegations including abuse of office, fraud, intent to commit fraud, and conferring undue advantage.
