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The Nigerian government has filed cybercrime charges against former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai for allegedly unlawfully intercepting the phone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
The charges, filed at the High Court in Abuja on Monday, follow statements made by El-Rufai during a live interview on Arise TV, in which he claimed that the NSA’s phone call was intercepted and that he heard Ribadu allegedly directing security operatives to detain him.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, was lodged three days after El-Rufai publicly disclosed during the interview that he was aware of the NSA’s phone being tapped, and that it was allegedly linked to an attempt to arrest him at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday.
The incident at the airport, reportedly a verbal altercation with security personnel, resulted in El-Rufai being briefly detained and having his international passport confiscated. Eyewitnesses reported chants from his supporters as he was escorted out of the airport.
The charges filed against El-Rufai stem from his comments in the interview, where prosecutors from the State Security Services (SSS) have accused him of unlawfully intercepting Ribadu’s phone communications.
In the first count, the government claims that El-Rufai admitted to the unlawful interception. The second count accuses him of failing to report an individual who allegedly intercepted the NSA’s communications, while the third count accuses him and others of using technical equipment to compromise national security by intercepting these communications.
The former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission headquarters in Abuja to address ongoing investigations into alleged corruption during his tenure.
El-Rufai, 65, has not responded publicly to the charges. The case further intensifies tensions between the former governor and the Tinubu administration, particularly after El-Rufai’s controversial removal from the 2023 ministerial nominee list following Senate opposition. The arraignment date for the charges has not yet been set.
