Deji Adeyanju Testifies Against El-Rufai In Alleged National Security Breach Trial

Human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju on Monday testified in the ongoing trial of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, who is facing charges of alleged breach of national security before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Adeyanju appeared as the second prosecution witness (PW-2) before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik and was led in evidence by counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwole Aladedoye (SAN).

The DSS instituted the case after El-Rufai allegedly stated during a television interview that he had listened to a telephone conversation involving National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

According to the former governor, the conversation revealed instructions to security operatives to arrest him following an incident at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on February 12 after his return from Cairo, Egypt.

When proceedings resumed on Monday, Adeyanju presented the subpoena through which he was summoned to testify. The document was admitted in evidence without objection from defence counsel, Paul Erokoro (SAN) and marked as Exhibit G.

In his testimony, Adeyanju recalled that reports had emerged on February 12 suggesting El-Rufai might be arrested or invited by security agencies.

He said that before the interview that led to the charges, he had publicly urged El-Rufai to honour any invitation from security agencies, insisting the matter should not be viewed as political persecution.

Adeyanju told the court that he appeared on an Arise Television programme on February 13, the same day El-Rufai granted the interview that forms the basis of the DSS case.

“I went to Arise, and El-Rufai was also on the show. My segment came after his. During his interview, I listened to him speak on many issues and I countered many of the things he said because they were not true or were half-truths,” he said.

A recording of El-Rufai's interview was replayed in court, after which Adeyanju confirmed that it accurately reflected what he witnessed on February 13.

The prosecution subsequently tendered a flash drive containing Adeyanju's own interview with Arise TV anchor Charles Aniagolu, along with a certificate of compliance. Both were admitted in evidence as Exhibits H and H1.

In the recorded interview played before the court, Adeyanju argued that if security agencies intended to arrest El-Rufai, they would have done so at the airport.

He also stated that El-Rufai was reportedly already under investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) at the time.

Addressing the airport incident, Adeyanju said the DSS likely engaged El-Rufai because he was on a watch list.

“So once your name is there, the first thing is to confiscate the passport,” he said in the video.

He further argued that El-Rufai should be investigated for alleged corruption and defended through the judicial process if charges were eventually filed.

Following the video presentation, Adeyanju told the court that he was later invited by the DSS and made a statement concerning the matter.

According to him, he confirmed that El-Rufai had claimed that someone intercepted a conversation and provided him with the information.

During cross-examination, Erokoro asked whether he specifically heard El-Rufai say he personally tapped a phone call.

Adeyanju responded that El-Rufai stated: “We listened to their calls.”

When asked whether hearing a conversation played on speakerphone amounted to phone tapping, Adeyanju said he would not falsely describe such a situation if he had personally witnessed it.

He added that he did not know how the alleged conversation was obtained and had no opinion on whether any device belonging to the NSA had been compromised.

The witness also told the court that he appeared solely because he was compelled by a subpoena.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the case until June 23 for continuation of trial.