BREAKING: Court grants El-Rufai N100m bail, orders monthly DSS reporting

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday granted bail to the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, in the sum of N100 million with one surety in like amount.

El-Rufai is currently entangled in a legal battle over the alleged unauthorized interception of telephone conversations belonging to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

Delivering the ruling, the presiding judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, imposed a series of stringent conditions that must be fulfilled before the former governor can regain his freedom.

According to the court, the required surety must be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 17 and must reside within the high-brow Maitama or Asokoro districts of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

As part of the strict bail terms, the surety is required to deposit the original Certificate of Occupancy of a landed property at the court registry, alongside a verification letter from their employment department and a tax clearance certificate covering the last six months.

Furthermore, the court ordered the surety to provide evidence of salary payments for at least three months. This evidence must be authenticated by a formal letter from the surety’s bank manager within the court’s jurisdiction. The surety is also expected to depose to an affidavit of means, execute a bail bond, and submit a recent passport photograph to the registry.

To restrict the former governor’s international movement, Justice Abdulmalik directed El-Rufai to surrender all his valid international passports to the custody of the court registry. He is also mandated to submit a formal letter of attestation from the Chairman of the Kaduna Traditional Council.

In a further bid to monitor the defendant, the court directed El-Rufai to report to the headquarters of the Department of State Services every last Friday of the month at 10 a.m. to sign an attendance register pending the determination of the case.

Justice Abdulmalik handed down a stern warning, stating that any failure to strictly comply with the laid down conditions would result in an automatic revocation of the bail.

The trial has already generated significant heat following recent public concerns raised by El-Rufai’s son, who lamented the former governor’s limited access to medical care and food while in custody.

With the bail terms now set, the court has adjourned the matter until June 1 for the hearing of pre-trial motions.