The Department of State Services has charged former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai with three counts related to the alleged unlawful interception of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu's phone communications. The arraignment took place on April 23 at the Federal High Court in Abuja before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, after a previous date of February 25 was missed due to El-Rufai's detention by the EFCC and subsequent custody by the ICPC over separate money laundering allegations. The charges stem from comments El-Rufai made during a live broadcast on Arise TV's Prime Time on February 13, 2026, in which he claimed to have heard conversations from Ribadu's tapped phone and alleged that the NSA directed his arrest upon returning from Cairo on February 12.
Count one accuses El-Rufai of admitting on air that he and others intercepted Ribadu's communications, contrary to Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act 2024. Count two alleges he failed to report the individual who conducted the interception, an offence under Section 27(b) of the same Act. Count three charges him and others still at large with using technical means to compromise national security under Section 131(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003. El-Rufai's legal team, led by Oluwole Iyamu, has filed a motion to quash the charges, arguing that televised remarks do not constitute a legal confession, which must be made under caution and in compliance with Judges' Rules. He also faces a separate one billion naira suit against the ICPC over a home search and was arraigned with Joel Adoga on March 24 on fraud and money laundering charges, to which they pleaded not guilty.
El-Rufai claims to have heard the NSA's private conversations yet faces charges for saying so, while the person who allegedly tapped the phone remains at large. The case turns on a televised statement that his lawyers argue cannot legally be treated as a confession. If surveillance of top officials is happening through third parties, the unresolved question is who in the security architecture enabled it. Nigerians named in such disclosures, including those at airports or under investigation, have no clarity on who accessed their private data or why.
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