BREAKING: DSS Arraigns El-Rufai Over Alleged Interception of Ribadu’s Phone

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai

BREAKING: DSS Arraigns El-Rufai Over Alleged Interception of Ribadu’s Phone

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, before a Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations that he unlawfully accessed the private telephone conversation of Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser (NSA).

El-Rufai, who also served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is being prosecuted on a five-count amended charge bordering on alleged unlawful interception of communications and related offences.

At Thursday’s proceedings, the DSS, through its counsel Oluwole Aladeloye, informed the court that the initial three-count charge had been expanded to five counts. Following the application, the presiding judge, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, struck out the earlier charge sheet and directed that the amended charges be read.

The former governor pleaded not guilty to all counts.

After the plea, the prosecution asked the court to fix a date for trial. However, proceedings were briefly stalled when defence counsel, Oluwole Iyamu, raised concerns over a pending bail application.

Iyamu told the court that a bail application had earlier been filed on February 17, alongside a further affidavit submitted recently. He explained that he needed time to properly confer with his client, noting that el-Rufai had been in the custody of multiple security agencies.

Justice Abdulmalik, however, stated that the said further affidavit was not in the court’s file, stressing that due diligence should have been done in ensuring proper filing. She criticised what she described as unnecessary courtroom distractions, including the presence of camera personnel, warning against turning proceedings into “Nollywood theatrics.”

The defence lawyer denied inviting any media personnel into the courtroom.

The judge subsequently stood down the matter to allow the issue surrounding the filing of the further affidavit to be resolved before continuing with proceedings.

The case stems from comments made by el-Rufai in February during an appearance on Prime Time, a programme on Arise Television. In the interview, he claimed that individuals had access to Ribadu’s phone conversations and alleged that he became aware of directives for his arrest through such intercepted communication.

According to el-Rufai, “someone tapped” the NSA’s phone and relayed information about instructions given to security operatives. He further suggested that surveillance of communications was not exclusive to government agencies.

Authorities have interpreted those remarks as an admission or indication of unauthorised access to protected communications, forming the basis of the charges against him under relevant cybercrime and national security laws.

The high-profile case has drawn national attention, raising broader questions about privacy, surveillance, and the limits of intelligence operations in Nigeria’s security architecture.

The court is expected to resume proceedings after resolving the bail application and related procedural issues, with a trial date likely to be fixed thereafter.