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From Sola Ojo, Abuja
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai was on Wednesday night reportedly rearrested by operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) shortly after he was granted bail by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
El-Rufai had been in EFCC custody since Monday, February 16, over corruption allegations levelled against him.
He was released on bail at about 8 p.m. on Wednesday but was immediately taken into custody by SSS operatives at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, according to witnesses.
The rearrest is connected to cybercrime charges filed against him by the SSS over alleged unlawful interception of the phone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
The charges, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, were filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja following comments El-Rufai made during a live interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme last Friday.
During the interview, he claimed that the NSA’s phone conversation was intercepted and that he heard Ribadu directing security operatives to detain him.
He linked the alleged directive to an attempted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport last Thursday, shortly after arriving from Cairo, Egypt.
Videos circulating online showed a confrontation between security personnel and members of his entourage. His international passport was reportedly seized during the encounter before he was allowed to leave the airport.
Following the interview, SSS prosecutors alleged that El-Rufai admitted to intercepting the NSA’s communications, failed to report others allegedly involved in unlawful interception, and compromised public safety and national security.
The alleged offences are said to violate provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003. No date has been fixed for his arraignment.
