Cybercrime offences: El-Rufai to be arraigned Feb 25

Former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai will be arraigned before a Federal High Court in Abuja on February 25 on a three-count criminal charge filed against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).
El-Rufai is to be arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, to whom the case has been assigned.
According to a notice issued to parties by the court in the charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026 accused El-Rufai of committing cybercrimes and violating the provisions of the Communications Act by allegedly being involved in the unlawful bugging of the telephone of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
The former governor, was alleged to have, on February 13, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV station’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja, did admit during the interview that he and his cohorts unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of the NSA, Mr Ribadu.
The offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment, Act, 2024.
In count two, he was alleged to have, on February 13, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV station’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja, did state during the interview that he knew and related with certain individual, who unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of NSA, without reporting the said individual to relevant security agencies.
The offence is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 27 (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment, Act, 2024.
It was alleged in count three that El-Rufai and others still at large, sometime in 2026 in Abuja, did use technical equipment or systems which compromised public safety, national security and instilling reasonable apprehension of insecurity among Nigerians by unlawfully intercepting NSA’s phone communications.
The act, the DSS said, El-Rufai admitted during an interview on Feb. 13th on Arise TV station’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja “and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 131(2) Nigerian Communications Act 2003.”