Sh*ck Twist In Phone Tapping Case As Adeyanju Points Finger At El-Rufai

A lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, on Monday told the Federal High Court in Abuja that former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, allegedly admitted during a television interview that the National Security Adviser’s conversation was monitored.

Adeyanju, who testified as the second prosecution witness in the ongoing trial over alleged phone tapping and breach of national security, said he was present when El-Rufai made the statement during the broadcast.

El-Rufai is facing trial over allegations bordering on the interception of phone lines belonging to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and a related breach of national security protocols.

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, Oluwole Aladedoye, Adeyanju confirmed that he is familiar with El-Rufai as a former governor of Kaduna State.

He also recalled issuing a public statement following reports suggesting that the former governor was to be arrested by security agencies.

During proceedings, the prosecution tendered the subpoena used to summon Adeyanju to court, which was admitted and marked as Exhibit G.

The court also reviewed the television interview in question, after which Adeyanju confirmed the content and statements allegedly made by El-Rufai during the programme.

In addition, a flash drive containing Adeyanju’s own interview, along with a certificate of compliance, was tendered by the prosecution and admitted as Exhibits H and H1.

Adeyanju further told the court that he was later invited by the Department of State Services (DSS), where he was asked to explain what transpired at the television studio.

He stated that he confirmed to investigators that he witnessed El-Rufai making the remarks on air.

According to him, El-Rufai further suggested during the interview that someone had carried out the phone tapping and relayed the information to him.

Under cross-examination by defence counsel, Paul Erokoro, Adeyanju said he did not hear El-Rufai explicitly state that he hacked the NSA’s phone lines.

However, he maintained that he heard the former governor say, “we listened to the conversation of the NSA.”

When asked about technical details of the NSA’s communication devices and whether investigators had questioned the security agencies on the alleged compromise, Adeyanju responded that such matters were not within his knowledge.

Meanwhile, the prosecution also tendered an official gazette, which was admitted into evidence without objection from the defence and marked as Exhibit I.

The case was adjourned to June 23 for continuation of trial proceedings.