The immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, is scheduled to be arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja on February 25 over a three-count criminal charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS).
El-Rufai will appear before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, to whom the case has been assigned, according to a hearing notice issued by the court.
The DSS, in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, accused him of committing cybercrimes and breaching provisions of the Communications Act by allegedly participating in the unlawful surveillance of the telephone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
In one of the counts, the former governor was alleged to have admitted during a February 13 appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme in Abuja that he and others unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s phone communications.
Another count accuses him of failing to report individuals allegedly involved in the interception to security agencies.
Prosecutors also claimed that El-Rufai and others still at large used technical systems to compromise public safety and national security by unlawfully accessing the NSA’s communications.
The case follows comments El-Rufai made during the television interview in which he alleged that he overheard Ribadu directing security operatives to detain him, linking the claim to an attempted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport after returning from Cairo.
Meanwhile, the former governor was earlier detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over corruption allegations.
He was later granted administrative bail but was subsequently taken into custody by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in connection with ongoing investigations.
ICPC spokesperson John Odey confirmed the development, stating that El-Rufai remains in the commission’s custody as inquiries continue.
