A former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, is set to face fresh criminal charges before the Federal High Court in Abuja, as the Department of State Services has fixed February 25, 2026, for his arraignment on allegations bordering on cybercrime and breach of national security charges that mark a significant escalation in what has become a rapidly compounding legal crisis for one of Nigeria’s most prominent and controversial political figures.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, was assigned to Justice Joyce Abdulmalik by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, who subsequently fixed the arraignment date. The filing of the charge follows a dramatic sequence of events that began on February 12, when El-Rufai returned to Nigeria from Cairo, Egypt, and was reportedly subjected to what he described as an attempted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
The DSS filed a three-count criminal charge against the former governor, accusing him of unlawfully intercepting the telephone lines of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu. The secret police alleged that El-Rufai’s actions contravened provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 — two critical pieces of legislation that form the legal backbone of Nigeria’s framework for combating electronic surveillance and telecommunications abuse.
In the first count, the DSS alleged that on February 13, 2026, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja, El-Rufai admitted during the live interview that he and others unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of the NSA. The alleged offence is said to be contrary to, and punishable under, Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024.
The second count accused the former governor of stating during the same television broadcast that he knew and had related with an individual who unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s phone communications — without reporting that person to relevant security agencies. The DSS characterised this as a punishable offence under Section 27(b) of the same Act, which deals with the concealment of information about cybercrimes.
El-Rufai had, during the live Arise TV interview, claimed that he overheard Ribadu directing security operatives to detain him, linking the alleged directive to what he described as the attempted detention at the airport on February 12. It was those on-air disclosures made in what appeared to be a bid to expose what he framed as a politically motivated clampdown that appear to have formed the evidentiary basis upon which the DSS constructed its charges.
The events surrounding El-Rufai’s current legal travails have unfolded with a speed and intensity rarely seen in Nigerian political life, even by the standards of a country no stranger to high-stakes political confrontations.
After the February 13 television appearance, El-Rufai was taken into custody by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for questioning in an alleged N432 billion fraud case a separate and far-reaching allegation that predates the current cybercrime charges. He was later granted administrative bail by the EFCC at approximately 8 p.m. on Wednesday. However, in what observers have described as an extraordinary sequence of events, he was reportedly taken into custody again by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission shortly after his EFCC release, suggesting that multiple agencies of the Nigerian state are simultaneously pursuing active cases against the former governor.
The convergence of three separate law enforcement agencies the DSS, the EFCC, and the ICPC in actions against a single individual within such a compressed timeframe is, by any measure, highly unusual and has drawn significant public attention.
Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai is no stranger to the intersection of power, controversy, and legal scrutiny. A trained quantity surveyor and lawyer, he rose to national prominence during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, serving as Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises between 1999 and 2003 before becoming Minister of the Federal Capital Territory from 2003 to 2007 a tenure remembered for sweeping and at times deeply controversial demolitions of illegal structures across Abuja, which displaced thousands of residents but also reshaped the capital’s urban landscape.
He contested the Kaduna State governorship in 2015 on the platform of the All Progressives Congress and won, going on to serve two terms — from 2015 to 2023 — during which his administration attracted both commendation for certain reform initiatives and fierce criticism for handling of the state’s deep-seated ethno-religious conflicts, which resulted in mass casualties during several episodes of violence. His tenure in Kaduna was marked by a blunt communication style that won him a devoted following among a section of Nigeria’s reform-minded class while making him powerful enemies across the political spectrum.
After leaving office in 2023, El-Rufai became one of the more vocal critics of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, under whom Nuhu Ribadu the NSA at the centre of the current charges also serves. El-Rufai’s open criticisms of the federal government and his public statements on governance and security have been extensively documented, making his February 13 Arise TV appearance consistent with a pattern of public outspokenness that has defined his post-gubernatorial profile.
The Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024 invoked in both the first and second counts represents an updated version of the original Cybercrimes Act of 2015, which was Nigeria’s landmark legislation establishing a comprehensive legal framework for prosecuting offences committed through electronic means. The 2024 amendment, signed into law by President Tinubu, introduced several modifications and has itself been the subject of controversy, particularly around provisions critics argued could be weaponised to suppress press freedom and dissent.
Section 12(1), under which the first count is brought, deals with the unlawful interception of electronic communications a serious offence that, if proven, carries significant custodial penalties. Section 27(b), which underpins the second count, covers the obligation to report known cybercriminals or cybercrimes to appropriate authorities, and the failure to do so constitutes a standalone criminal offence under the Act.
The Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, which is also cited in the charges, governs the use of telecommunications infrastructure and services in Nigeria and contains provisions that prohibit the unlawful interception or monitoring of communications transmitted through licensed networks.
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, whose telephone lines are said to have been intercepted, is himself one of the most recognisable names in Nigeria’s public service history. The founding chairman of the EFCC the very agency that has also detained El-Rufai Ribadu built a formidable national and international reputation as an anti-corruption crusader during the Obasanjo years. He later ran unsuccessfully for president in 2011 on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria and served as the APC’s presidential candidate coordinator in 2015 before eventually being appointed National Security Adviser by President Tinubu in 2023. That the current allegations involve the alleged interception of his communications adds a layer of significant political texture to what is already a charged situation.
As of the time of this report, El-Rufai had not been formally arraigned, and the courts are yet to hear any response from the defence. The legal process is at its very earliest stage, and a charge, by its nature, constitutes an allegation not a finding of guilt. El-Rufai and his legal team are expected to respond when proceedings commence on February 25.
Several critical questions remain open: whether the DSS will rely solely on the Arise TV broadcast as evidence, how the defence will contest the admissibility and interpretation of those statements, and what if any connection exists between the three sets of allegations being pursued simultaneously by the DSS, EFCC, and ICPC.
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