The Federal Government has instituted criminal proceedings against former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over allegations that he unlawfully intercepted the private telephone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
The cybercrime charges were filed on Monday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026. The action followed comments made by Mr El-Rufai during a live appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on 13 February, where he claimed that he and unnamed individuals had access to the NSA’s private telephone conversations.
During the televised interview, Mr El-Rufai stated: “The NSA’s call was tapped. They do that to our calls too, and we heard him saying they should arrest me.” He further alleged that the directive to detain him was responsible for the attempted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday.
PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that Mr El-Rufai was involved in a heated exchange with security operatives at the Abuja airport shortly after arriving in Nigeria. According to witnesses, he was briefly restrained, and his international passport was confiscated before he was escorted out of the airport amid chants from supporters who had gathered to welcome him.
Mr El-Rufai, 65, a vocal critic of President Bola Tinubu’s administration who left the All Progressives Congress (APC) last year to join the African Democratic Congress (ADC), granted the Arise TV interview the following day, Friday, during which he made the remarks about the alleged call interception.
Barely three days after the interview, prosecutors from the State Security Services (SSS) filed charges against him stemming from the statements he made during the programme, according to court documents circulating online.
In the first count, the government alleged that Mr El-Rufai admitted during the Arise TV appearance that he and others unlawfully intercepted Mr Ribadu’s phone communications, an act said to contravene Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
The second count accused him of acknowledging that he knew and associated with an individual who unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s communications but failed to report the person to the relevant security agencies, contrary to Section 27(b) of the Cybercrimes Act.
In the third count, the SSS alleged that Mr El-Rufai and others now at large used technical equipment or systems in a manner that compromised public safety and national security by intercepting Mr Ribadu’s communications, contrary to Section 131(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
As of the time of filing this report, no date has been fixed for his arraignment, and Mr El-Rufai has not publicly responded to the charges.
