The Department of State Services (DSS) is set to arraign former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, on Wednesday, February 25, over allegations of cybercrime and breach of national security.
El-Rufai will appear before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja. The DSS briefly took him into custody on February 18 after he spent two nights with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The former governor had claimed that the phone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was wiretapped, allowing him to listen to the NSA allegedly directing security operatives to effect his arrest.
The DSS has filed a three-count charge against El-Rufai, accusing him of unlawfully intercepting the NSA’s telephone conversations. In the first count, he was alleged to have admitted during an appearance on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on February 13 that he and others unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s communications, an offence said to be punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
The second count alleged that El-Rufai stated on the same programme that he knew individuals involved in the unlawful interception of the NSA’s communications but failed to report them to relevant security agencies, contrary to Section 27(b) of the same Act.
In the third count, the DSS alleged that El-Rufai and others still at large, sometime in 2026 in Abuja, used technical equipment or systems that compromised public safety and national security, and instilled fear among Nigerians by unlawfully intercepting the NSA’s phone communications. The alleged offence was said to contravene the Cybercrimes Act as amended and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
El-Rufai is also reported to be in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over allegations of corruption during his tenure as Kaduna State governor.