El-Rufai Challenges DSS Wiretapping Charge at Federal High Court

Lawyers to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, have filed a preliminary objection at the Federal High Court of Nigeria challenging the constitutionality and competence of a wiretapping charge brought against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).

In the application, El-Rufai’s legal team is asking the court to dismiss the charge on several grounds, arguing that the suit is fundamentally defective and unknown to the law.

Central to the objection is the claim that the charge was initiated by the “Department of State Services,” which counsel argue is not a legal entity recognised under Nigerian law. According to the lawyers, the agency established by statute under the National Security Agencies Act is the State Security Service (SSS), not the DSS.

They contend that any charge purportedly filed in the name of the DSS is therefore incompetent and void.

The defence team further argued that even if properly constituted, the agency lacks prosecutorial powers to institute criminal proceedings, rendering the charge invalid.

In addition, the objection asserts that the charge does not disclose any offence known to the law and is therefore incurably defective. The lawyers maintain that the particulars of the alleged offences were not provided, thereby denying the defendant adequate information required to prepare a defence.

They also argue that the charge, as framed, violates El-Rufai’s constitutional right against self-incrimination.

The court is expected to fix a date to hear arguments on the preliminary objection. The outcome of the application could determine whether the substantive charge proceeds to trial or is struck out.