El-Rufai Claims He Tapped NSA Ribadu’s Phone to Uncover Arrest Plot
In a stunning revelation that is set to send shockwaves through Nigeria’s political and intelligence circles, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has admitted to accessing intercepted phone conversations of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
Speaking during an interview on Prime Time, a program on Arise Television, El-Rufai alleged that he heard Ribadu personally instructing security operatives to effect his arrest.
The former governor, who recently defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the disclosure with a brazen confidence that has already drawn sharp reactions from the Presidency.
When pressed by the interviewer, Charles Aniagolu, on the legality of tapping the phone of the country’s top security official, El-Rufai did not deny the act.
Instead, he justified it as a counter-measure against a government he claims routinely violates the privacy of its citizens.
“He made the call because we listened to their calls. The government thinks they are the only ones that listen to calls but we also have our ways. He made the call and gave the order.
“Someone tapped his phone. The government listens to our calls all the time without a court order. Someone tapped his phone and told us that he gave the order,” El-Rufai declared
The admission has triggered an immediate response from the Presidency. Temitope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, took to X (formerly Twitter) to warn that El-Rufai’s confession carries grave legal implications.
“El-Rufai admitted on national television that someone tapped the phone of the NSA for him to listen to his conversation. When Charles Aniagolu, the interviewer, interjected that that was an illegal action, El-Rufai agreed to the illegality,” Ajayi wrote
“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,” he added.
This explosive claim follows a tense standoff at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Thursday, where DSS operatives allegedly attempted to arrest El-Rufai upon his return from Cairo.
While the DSS and ICPC have yet to issue official statements on the specific order, El-Rufai’s assertion that he has “ears” inside the country’s security apparatus suggests a deep fracture within the intelligence community and a dangerous escalation in the political battle ahead of the 2027 elections.
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