El‑Rufai Confesses to Wire‑tapping NSA Phone During TV Interview, Witness Says in Court

Alex Enumah in Abuja 

A witness for the Department of State Services (DSS) in the trial of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El‑Rufai, who is accused of wire‑tapping the telephone lines of National Security Adviser Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has admitted that El‑Rufai confirmed the wire‑tapping during a television interview.

The witness said he appeared on an interview programme on Arise Television on 16 February 2026, the same day El‑Rufai made the confession on the same television channel.

Deji Adeyanju, who testified as the second Prosecution Witness (PW2) on Monday, told Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a Federal High Court that the former governor admitted during the television interview that “we listened to the conversations of the NSA.”

Adeyanju, who was led in evidence by prosecution counsel Oluwole Aladedoye, confirmed that he knew El‑Rufai as a former governor of Kaduna State and recalled issuing a public statement after reports emerged that the former governor was to be arrested by security operatives.

The prosecution submitted the subpoena used to summon Adeyanju, which was admitted and marked as Exhibit G.

Meanwhile, the court viewed the Arise Television interview involving El‑Rufai, after which Adeyanju confirmed the recording and the statements allegedly made during the programme.

The prosecution subsequently submitted Adeyanju’s own interview, contained in a flash drive, alongside a certificate of compliance. Both were admitted in evidence as Exhibits H and H1.

While giving evidence, Adeyanju told the court that he was later invited by the DSS, where he was asked to recount what transpired at the television studio.

According to him, he confirmed to investigators that he was present when El‑Rufai made the statements on air and that when further questioned during the interview, the former governor stated that someone carried out the phone tapping and passed the information to him.

Under cross‑examination by defence counsel Paul Erokoro (SAN), the witness stated that although he did not hear El‑Rufai specifically say he hacked the phone lines of the NSA, he heard him say: “We listened to the conversations of the NSA.”

When asked whether he knew the means through which the NSA makes calls, and if he would be surprised to learn that DSS investigators did not ask the NSA which of his devices was allegedly compromised, he replied that those were not his business.

Meanwhile, the prosecution submitted an official gazette without objection from the defence. The document was admitted and marked as Exhibit I.

The matter was adjourned until 23 June for continuation of the trial.

El‑Rufai is standing trial over his alleged involvement in wire‑tapping the telephone lines of the NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

In the three‑count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, the former governor is alleged to have breached the Cybercrimes Prohibition Act (2024) and the Nigerian Communications Act (2003).