El - Rufai under fire over NSA phone tapping claim - The Nation Newspaper

thenationonlineng.net · Feb 15, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Featured • El-Rufai and • Ribadu Presidency seeks probe of alleged illegal surveillance of Ribadu Action threatens national security, INEC – Omokri Dadiyata: Ganduje rejects allegations, demands scrutiny of El-Rufai Shehu Sani seeks probe of ex-gov’s eight-year tenure Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El Rufai, yesterday, drew flak from different quarters after publicly confessing to accessing an intercepted telephone conversation of National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu. The general view was that he should be probed and prosecuted for allegedly violating the law of the land. El Rufai, speaking during an Arise Television interview on Friday, had said he listened to the NSA allegedly instructing security operatives to get him arrested. “He (Ribadu) made the call because we listened to their call,” the former governor told his interviewer. He added, “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 justified his action by saying, “Government thinks they are the only ones that listen to calls, but we also have our ways.” Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, called for an investigation and possible prosecution of the former governor for his open confession of illegal wire-tapping of the NSA. “El-Rufai confesses to wire-tapping Nigeria’s NSA on TV. Does it mean that he and his collaborators have wire-tapping facilities?” Onanuga wrote on his verified X handle, @aonanuga1956. Continuing, he said: “This should be thoroughly investigated, and punishment meted out. El-Rufai is not too big to face the wrath of the law.” Senior special assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, had earlier expressed shock over the former governor’s statement. “El-Rufai admitted on a 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. 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 said on Facebook. Omokri: Who else has el-Rufai been tapping? Ambassador-designate Reno Omokri wondered who else El Rufai has been wiretapping. Omokri, in a Facebook post, said: “Tapping a phone call without a court order is a crime. Admitting to it on live television is callous. Confessing that you were an accessory after the fact to unnamed individuals in the illegal tapping of a call is an open-and-shut case of your own culpability. Read Also: First Lady mourns Ojora, hails deceased industrialist’s inter-faith legacy “Who else has Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and his agents been tapping? Has he and his associates been helping terrorists and coup plotters to tap the phone calls of their intended victims? Don’t forget that this is the same man who admitted to paying killer herdsmen! “No wonder he boasted that he would unseat President Tinubu in 2027. Has he also tapped the INEC Chairman’s phone number? “No wonder they wanted real-time transmission of election results. If they can tap a whole National Security Adviser’s phone number, is it INEC, IREV, and BVAS they cannot hack? “Nasir el-Rufai, keep talking. Keep digging. Keep exposing yourself.” In a separate post on his X account @renoomokri, he said no amount of damage control by associates of El Rufai would clear the mess he has created for himself. His words: “There should be no revisionism by the associates of Mr El-Rufa’i, who, having discovered the mess he has put himself in, are now panicking and feverishly trying to spin things, with the help of multiple paid influencers. “Let’s be clear. Nasir el-Rufa’i admitted to the crime of being an accessory after the fact of an illegal wire-tapping of a very senior government official, without a court order. “Nasir el-Rufa’i’s exact words were: “He made the call because we listen to calls.” This is a criminal admission. And the admission indicates that they ‘listen to calls’, meaning that the National Security Adviser is not the only victim of their crimes. There are more people! “Then he said: ‘Someone tapped his phone and told me. ’ That is an admission of being an accessory after the fact. “According to the criminal code of Nigeria and other common law countries, an accessory after the fact is someone who, knowing that a crime has been committed, receives, relieves, comforts, or assists the offender to help them evade apprehension, trial, or punishment. “Nasir el-Rufa’i admitted on Arise TV that he knew that hacking a phone without a court order is a crime. He also confessed that even though he knew it was a crime, he willingly participated in the illegal activity after it had been committed. “That is a crime! Nasir el-Rufa’i clearly admitted that he knew the action was illegal, yet he participated in it after the fact. His own mouth has convicted him. Nobody should try any damage control!” Human rights lawyer raises alarm over alleged tapping of NSA phone by El-Rufai A human rights activist in Kano, Abba Hikima, described the action of the former governor as a grave threat to national security and a brazen disregard for the rule of law. “So Nasir El-Rufai recklessly admitted on a national television that they are tapping and listening to NSA’s phone calls?” Hikima wrote on his Facebook wall. The issue, according to the human rights activist, transcends politics, and warned that any unauthorised surveillance of the office of the National Security Adviser undermines public trust and the integrity of Nigeria’s security architecture. He said, “Now this is beyond politics. It is a threat to national security and brazen confrontation of the rule of law. “The NSA, no matter how partisan or self-serving he may be, is definitely also serving the Nigerian public in the sensitive matters of their security. Tapping his calls and admitting the same publicly shouldn’t just be condoned. “Whoever they are that admitted to this conduct should be immediately arrested and interrogated if Nigeria is worth its salt.” Ganduje seeks probe of El-Rufai’s claims on Dadiyata’s disappearance Amid the ruckus generated by El-Rufai, former Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, also rejected an allegation by the former Kaduna governor, linking him to the disappearance of a social critic, Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata. Related News Kwankwaso, el-Rufai and limits of unreason N'Delta coalition demands El-Rufai’s probe over phone tapping allegation Ganduje calls for probe of El-Rufai’s claims on Dadiyata’s disappearance The former APC national chairman described the allegation as reckless, unfounded and a clear attempt to shift responsibility for an incident that occurred entirely within Kaduna State. Ganduje, in a statement by his Chief of Staff and former Kano State Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Comrade Muhammad Garba, said Dadiyata lived and operated in Kaduna, where he was widely known for directing his criticisms at the State government. “There is no credible record suggesting that the activist’s primary focus was the Kano state government or Dr Ganduje,” Garba said. “Everyone in Kaduna knew the nature of the criticism he made and who it was directed at. “Responsibility for security in Kaduna at the time rested with the state government and the relevant federal security agencies operating there. Garba called for scrutiny of El-Rufai’s recent remarks, stressing that such serious allegations must be supported by verifiable evidence rather than political rhetoric. “Dragging Ganduje into the matter without proof, not only politicises a painful and unresolved episode but also risks further confusion for the public over an already sensitive case,” he said. Garba, while contrasting the political climates of Kaduna and Kano States during the period in question, said: “Ganduje’s two-term administration in Kano was marked by tolerance for criticism, open media engagement and acceptance of opposition voices. “Unlike many political leaders who maintained strained relationships with the media, we allowed scrutiny, accommodated critical voices and even learned from dissenting perspectives.” He added that there was no record of arrests, intimidation or harassment of journalists or critics in Kano during Ganduje’s tenure, stressing that public discourse surrounding Dadiyata’s disappearance has, over the years, centered largely on events within Kaduna State and that former Senator, Shehu Sani, had openly remarked that many individuals within the state were reluctant to speak publicly about the case. Social commentator, Reno Omokri, said the statement, which also previously raised allegations questioning how the matter was handled at the time. Ganduje also expressed concern over El-Rufai’s claim that a police officer allegedly confessed to being sent from Kano to abduct Dadiyata. He questioned why such grave information, if credible, was not formally disclosed to investigative authorities or pursued transparently through appropriate security channels at the time. “It is difficult to reconcile a claim of having no prior knowledge of the individual with simultaneously making detailed assertions about who was responsible,” he noted. While reiterating sympathy for Dadiyata’s family, Ganduje stressed that the priority should remain on uncovering the truth through a lawful and transparent investigative process. “The family deserves closure. What the family does not deserve is for this tragic matter to become an instrument of political blame-shifting,” he said. My ordeal in the hands of El Rufai — Activist A human rights defender, Steven Kefas, yesterday, recounted how El-Rufai, during his tenure as governor, allegedly sent security personnel to abduct him. Kefas, in a post on his X account @SKefa,s said the security