FG Slams Criminal Charges on El Rufai Over Alleged NSA Phone Tapping
The Federal Government has instituted criminal proceedings against former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El Rufai, over allegations that he was involved in unlawfully intercepting the phone communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Court documents filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja show that the case, registered as FHC ABJ CR 99 2026, was brought by the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The charges stem from statements El Rufai allegedly made during a television appearance in which he reportedly acknowledged involvement in the interception of the NSA’s communications.
The legal action comes days after claims by his media aide that security operatives attempted to detain the former governor upon his arrival in Abuja on EgyptAir flight MS877 from Cairo on Thursday, February 12, 2026.
The aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, disclosed via his X account that El Rufai declined to accompany the officials in the absence of a formal summons and that his international passport was taken from one of his aides during the encounter.
In the three count charge dated February 16, 2026, the government alleged that El Rufai, 65, admitted during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme in Abuja on February 13, 2026, that he and unnamed associates intercepted Ribadu’s telephone conversations without lawful authority.
The first count accuses him of acknowledging participation in the unlawful interception, an offence punishable under Section 12 subsection 1 of the Cybercrimes Prohibition, Prevention and related matters Amendment Act, 2024.
The second count alleges that during the same interview, he indicated awareness of and association with an individual who carried out the interception but failed to report the matter to the appropriate authorities. That allegation is said to fall under Section 27 paragraph b of the same Cybercrimes Amendment Act.
The third charge claims that El Rufai and other persons yet to be identified deployed technical tools or systems within Abuja in 2026 to intercept the NSA’s communications, an act prosecutors argue compromised national security and generated public anxiety. This count is brought under Section 131 subsection 2 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
At the time of this report, the court had not scheduled a date for his arraignment.
