A prosecution witness told the Federal High Court in Abuja that both the National Security Adviser and the ICPC chairman independently confirmed the authenticity of a conversation El-Rufai allegedly claimed was intercepted and forwarded to him.
The trial of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai over alleged treason and national security breach resumed Tuesday in Abuja, with a prosecution witness testifying that the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the ICPC chairman both confirmed a conversation referenced by the defendant during a television interview.
The court viewed a 43-minute Arise Television interview in which El-Rufai allegedly claimed a private conversation involving Ribadu had been intercepted and sent to him, while defending the practice by arguing that governments routinely monitor communications
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Chief Paul Erokoro, the witness admitted investigators neither examined any communication devices belonging to the NSA nor conducted forensic analysis. He also conceded that El-Rufai “never expressly stated during the interview that he personally carried out the interception.”
The witness nevertheless maintained that El-Rufai “repeatedly stood by the claim that the conversation had been tapped and forwarded to him.” Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned further hearing to June 22 and 23.
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