Deji Adeyanju, a lawyer and second prosecution witness in the trial of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai for alleged tapping of the phone lines of the National Security Adviser and breach of national security, told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the former governor told a television interview that “we listened to the conversation of the NSA”.
Under evidence led by the prosecution counsel, Oluwole Aladedoye, Adeyanju admitted that he knew El-Rufai as a former governor of Kaduna State and recalled that he made a public statement after reports that the former governor was to be arrested by the security forces.
The prosecution produced the subpoena used to call the lawyer and admitted it as Exhibit G, Channels TV reports.
Apart from the interview with El-Rufai, the court also considered Adeyanju’s confirmation of the recording and the statements made during the broadcast.
The prosecution later produced Adeyanju’s personal interview contained in a flash drive together with a certificate of compliance.
Both were permitted into evidence as Exhibits H and H1.
Adeyanju while giving evidence informed the court that he was later invited by the Department of State Services (DSS) where he was told to describe what transpired in the television studio.
He said that he was there when El-Rufai said so on TV and when asked further during the interview, the ex-governor said that someone did the phone tapping and gave him the information, he said.
The second prosecution witness, Paul Erokoro, on cross examination by defence counsel told the court that he did not hear El-Rufai directly claim he hacked the phone lines of the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu but heard him say, “we listened to the conversation of the NSA”.
He was questioned if he knew how the NSA makes calls, and if he would be surprised that DSS investigators did not ask the NSA which of his devices was supposedly affected, and he responded that those were none of his concern.
The prosecution then produced an official gazette, which the defence did not object to.
The document was received in evidence as Exhibit I.
The matter was then deferred to tomorrow, Tuesday, June 23 for continuation of trial.
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