The Department of State Services has filed a three-count criminal charge against former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai before the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged cybercrime and breach of national security.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, was assigned to Justice Joyce Abdulmalik by the Chief Judge of the court, Justice John Tsoho, who subsequently fixed February 25, 2026 for the defendant’s arraignment.
The DSS accused El-Rufai of unlawfully intercepting the telephone lines of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. The secret police alleged that El-Rufai’s actions contravened provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
In the first count, “the DSS alleged that the former governor, on February 13, 2026, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja, admitted during the interview that he and others unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of the NSA, an offence said to be contrary to, and punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.”
In count two, the ex-governor was alleged to have stated during the interview that he knew and related with a certain individual who unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of the NSA, without reporting the said individual to relevant security agencies. The offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 27(b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
The third charge claimed that in 2026, in Abuja, the former governor and others still at large deployed technical equipment to intercept the NSA’s communications in a manner said to have compromised public safety and national security, contrary to Section 131(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
The charges followed comments made by El-Rufai during an appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme, where he alleged that “someone wiretapped” Ribadu’s phone, enabling him to hear the NSA allegedly directing security operatives to arrest him. He linked the alleged directive to an attempted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on February 12, 2026 after his return from Cairo, Egypt.
The arraignment scheduled for February 25, 2026 was stalled due to El-Rufai’s absence. Trial judge Joyce Abdulmalik postponed the arraignment until April 23, 2026 because Mr El-Rufai was absent from court due to his ongoing detention by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission. Counsel to the DSS, Oluwole Aladedoye, SAN, informed the court that the former governor was still with the ICPC for investigation.
El-Rufai had earlier been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at its headquarters in Abuja from February 16, 2026 and released on bail on February 18, 2026, when he was immediately picked up by ICPC operatives. The ICPC is investigating separate allegations of corruption during his tenure as governor of Kaduna State from 2015 to 2023.
El-Rufai, who is a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, has filed an application urging the judge to quash the phone tapping charges on the grounds that they are incompetent, disclose no offence known to law, and constitute what he described as a gross abuse of court process. He also asked for a N2 billion cost to be awarded against the DSS “for the abuse and misuse of the court process, and the egregious, reckless, and unconstitutional misuse of the criminal justice system to harass, embarrass, and publicly victimise the defendant/applicant.”
The former governor, who was governor between 2015 and 2023 and also Minister of the Federal Capital Territory under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, is billed to appear before trial Justice Joyce Abdulmalik to enter his plea to the charge against him.
