A former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has filed an application asking the Federal High Court to quash the criminal charges instituted against him by the Department of State Services (DSS), describing the case as incompetent and a gross abuse of court process.
The application relates to Charge No. FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, which is pending before the Federal High Court, Abuja, and scheduled for hearing on February 25, 2026, before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik.
In the motion, El-Rufai is seeking an order striking out the charge dated February 16, 2026, on the grounds that it discloses no offence known to law and constitutes an abuse of the judicial process. He is also asking the court to discharge him, arguing that the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case.
Additionally, the former governor is demanding ₦2 billion in costs against the DSS for what he described as the “abuse and misuse of the court process” and the unconstitutional deployment of the criminal justice system to harass and embarrass him.
According to court documents, the motion lists 17 grounds for dismissal, challenging the constitutional validity of the charges. El-Rufai argues that the offences cited are not recognised by law and fail to meet statutory requirements. He also raises issues of duplicity, lack of evidence, prosecutorial incompetence, bad faith, and alleged political persecution.
The application further contends that the prosecution violates several provisions of the 1999 Constitution, including Section 36(5) on the presumption of innocence; Section 36(11) on the right against self-incrimination; Section 36(12), which requires that offences be defined in written law; and Sections 39 and 40, which guarantee freedom of expression and association.
El-Rufai’s legal team said it formally notified the DSS Director-General of the application in a letter dated February 18.
The DSS had fixed February 25 for his arraignment over alleged cybercrime and breach of national security. The agency filed a three-count charge accusing him of unlawfully intercepting the telephone conversation of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Prosecutors allege that his actions contravened provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
In one of the counts, the DSS alleged that El-Rufai, during a February 13, 2026 appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme in Abuja, admitted that he and others intercepted the NSA’s phone communications, an offence said to be punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes Act.
He was also accused of stating during the same interview that he knew an individual who unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s communications but failed to report the person to security agencies, an offence the DSS said is punishable under Section 27(b) of the Act.
During the live interview, El-Rufai had claimed he overheard Ribadu directing security operatives to detain him, linking the alleged directive to what he described as an attempted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on February 12 upon his return from Cairo, Egypt.
The court is expected to consider both the motion to quash and the planned arraignment on February 25.
