Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has ignited a national security firestorm after admitting on live television that he and his associates intercepted the private phone conversations of National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu to thwart an alleged plot for his arrest.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV’s "Prime Time" on Friday night, El-Rufai claimed that "counter-surveillance" allowed him to hear Ribadu personally directing security operatives to detain him upon his arrival from Cairo. The revelation follows a chaotic scene at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Thursday, where the former governor engaged in a heated standoff with agents from the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
“The NSA’s call was tapped. They do that to our calls too, and we heard him saying they should arrest me,” El-Rufai told interviewer Charles Aniagolu. When challenged on the legality of such actions, the former governor did not back down, stating, “I know, but the government does it all the time. They listen to our calls all the time without a court order. But someone tapped his phone and told us that he gave the order.”
The Presidency reacted swiftly to the admission, with spokesperson Bayo Onanuga calling for a thorough criminal investigation and punishment for what he described as a blatant breach of national security. In a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Onanuga questioned the extent of El-Rufai’s technical capabilities, asking, “Does it mean that he and his collaborators have wiretapping facilities? This should be thoroughly investigated, and punishment meted out. El-Rufai is not too big to face the wrath of the law.”
The airport confrontation, which saw El-Rufai’s international passport briefly confiscated before he was spirited away by a crowd of chanting supporters, appears to be the latest escalation in a deepening rift between the former APC power player and the administration of President Bola Tinubu. El-Rufai has recently emerged as a central figure in a new opposition coalition under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), joining forces with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 elections.
Legal experts warn that the former governor’s candid admission could provide the government with the very grounds for prosecution. El-Rufai has maintained he is not evading the law, though he accused the ICPC of being a "personal tool" of the NSA. His legal team, led by Ubong Esop Akpan, confirmed that the former governor intends to honour a "more professional" invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on February 16, 2026—a date that marks his 66th birthday.