DSS Charges El-Rufai for Tapping NSA Ribadu’s Phone

The Department of State Services (DSS) has filed a three-count criminal charge against the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, over allegations of unlawfully intercepting the private communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

The charges were filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, escalating the standoff between the former governor and the federal government.

The secret police anchored its case on El-Rufai’s own admission during a live appearance on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Friday, February 13, 2026.

During the interview, El-Rufai boldly claimed that he was aware of a plot to arrest him because he and his associates had intercepted the NSA’s phone calls.

Advertisement

“Ribadu made the call because we listened to their calls. The government thinks that they’re the only ones that listen to calls. But we also have our ways,” El-Rufai had said.

In the charge sheet, the DSS accused El-Rufai of violating the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024. Count one specifically cites his televised admission as evidence of the crime.

“That you, Mallam Nasir El Rufai, adult, male, on 13th February, 2026, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV Station’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja… did admit during the interview that you and your cohorts unlawfully intercepted the Phone Communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 12 (1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment, Act, 2024,” the count reads.

The filing of charges comes on the same day El-Rufai arrived at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to answer questions regarding separate allegations of financial mismanagement during his eight-year tenure as governor.

Advertisement

The former governor has faced intense scrutiny since his return to the country last week, which was marked by a dramatic scene at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport where he claimed DSS operatives attempted to arrest him without a warrant.

The Presidency has not taken El-Rufai’s claims lightly. Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, had earlier warned that El-Rufai’s confession to phone tapping was a self-indictment.

“By the time he is picked up to produce the person who illegally tapped the NSA’s phone, he would say President Tinubu is a ‘tyrant’ and persecuting him,” Ajayi wrote on social media shortly after the interview aired.

As of the time of this report, no date has been fixed for El-Rufai’s arraignment.