The Nigerian government has filed cybercrime charges against former Kaduna State Governor, Mr. Nasir El-Rufai, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, over the alleged unlawful interception of the phone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

The case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026 was filed on Monday, barely three days after El-Rufai said during a live interview on Arise TV that the NSA’s phone conversation was intercepted, and that he heard the NSA directing security operatives to detain him.

“The NSA’s call was tapped. They do that to our calls too, and we heard him saying they should arrest me,” El-Rufai claimed during the TV programme on Friday.

El-Rufai said the NSA’s order was behind the alleged attempt to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that El-Rufai was involved in a heated verbal exchange with security operatives at the Abuja airport shortly after he arrived in the country.

According to witness accounts, security officials briefly restrained him. They confiscated his international passport before escorting him out of the airport amid chants from supporters who had gathered to greet him.

El-Rufai, a critic of the President Bola Tinubu administration who abandoned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) last year to join the African Democratic, appeared on Arise TV the following day, Friday, to shed light on his airport exchange, during which he dropped the call-tapping comment.

On Monday, prosecutors from the State Security Services (SSS) filed cybercrime charges stemming from the interview against him, as the filing circulating online shows.

In the first count, the government alleged that El-Rufai, 65, admitted during an appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on 13 February that he and others unlawfully intercepted Ribadu’s phone communications.

Prosecutors said the alleged act contravenes Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.

In count two, SSS accused El-Rufai of stating during the same interview that he knew and associated with an individual who unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s communications but failed to report the person to security agencies, contrary to Section 27(b) of the Cybercrimes Act.

The third count alleged that 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.

A date for his arraignment has not yet been fixed.

El-Rufai has not publicly responded to the charges as of the time of filing this report.

Background
El-Rufai’s comment during the televised interview on Arise TV on Friday was made against the backdrop of heightened hostility between him and the President Tinubu administration.

Tinubu initially nominated Mr El-Rufai as minister at the inception of his administration in 2023. But Mr El-Rufai was dropped under controversial circumstances, after the Senate refused to clear him, citing security concerns.

El-Rufai alleged that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had “procured” the SSS to arrest him. He insisted that Mr Ribadu personally ordered his arrest.

When asked how he knew about the alleged directive, El-Rufai said: “He made the call because we listen to their calls. The government believes it is the only one listening to calls, but we have our ways.”

Pressed on whether the NSA’s phone was tapped, he replied: “Someone tapped his phone,” while acknowledging that such interception was technically illegal.

Following the broadcast, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the remarks as a “confession” and called for an investigation, questioning whether the former governor and his associates possessed wire-tapping capabilities.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, also said the admission warranted scrutiny.

According to a report by Punch Newspapers, security experts and legal practitioners warned that the unlawful interception of the NSA’s communications, if established, could constitute a serious breach of national security protocol.

They cited constitutional and statutory provisions that guarantee the privacy of communications and criminalise unauthorised interception except under lawful authority.

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