A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai bail in the sum of N100 million with stringent conditions attached, even as the federal government immediately opened its case and called its first witness after the bail was granted, setting the stage for an accelerated trial in what has become one of Nigeria’s most politically charged prosecutions.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik imposed detailed bail conditions requiring the proposed surety to reside in Maitama or Asokoro in Abuja, deposit an original Certificate of Occupancy of a landed property at the court registry, be a federal civil servant of at least Grade Level 17, and provide three months of authenticated salary evidence alongside an affidavit of means, a bail bond, a verification letter from their department, and a tax clearance certificate. El-Rufai was also directed to deposit all valid international passports, report to DSS headquarters every last Friday of the month, and seek court permission before travelling.
The prosecution’s first witness, a DSS personnel, testified about monitoring a program in which el-Rufai allegedly claimed he had wiretapped the communications of the National Security Adviser and two others. A flash drive and compliance letter were tendered in evidence and the court viewed a video for more than 20 minutes before audio difficulties prompted an adjournment to allow prosecutors bring a functioning device.
Separately, the ICPC rejected family claims that the former governor was being denied food and medical care in custody, saying documented visitor register entries showed that one of his wives and a housemaid brought food on no fewer than three occasions on May 15 between 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., but that the wife’s own video showed she arrived at 7:00 p.m., 30 minutes after the official visiting window closed. The commission said the former governor had also not yet met his bail conditions, which was why he remained in custody.
El-Rufai’s second wife separately raised alarm that the DSS had taken him into their facility during a court break despite two subsisting Kaduna court orders directing he be remanded with the ICPC, saying the family lived under daily fear and surveillance. Senator Lawal Adamu and other supporters protested outside the DSS headquarters.
