Airport Standoff: “Someone tapped his phone and told me he gave the order” — El-Rufai alleges monitoring of Ribadu’s calls

Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, said he was informed of an order to detain him after a third party allegedly intercepted a phone call involving Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s National Security Adviser.

Speaking Friday night on Arise Television, Mr El-Rufai claimed that someone had tapped the NSA’s phone and relayed details of a conversation in which he was reportedly instructed to be taken into custody. He acknowledged during the interview that phone tapping is illegal but argued that unlawful surveillance is commonplace.

The remarks came as he recounted a confrontation on Thursday with operatives of the Department of State Services at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, where his passport was briefly taken during what he described as an attempted arrest.

Mr El-Rufai said his legal team had earlier notified the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission that he was out of the country on annual vacation and would respond to its invitation upon return. He clarified that the airport incident did not involve the EFCC.

According to him, the action was initiated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, which he alleged requested DSS involvement despite not having previously contacted him. He described this as a pattern and accused the ICPC of acting as a “personal tool” of the NSA. He offered no evidence to support the claim.

Mr El-Rufai, however, commended the EFCC for what he called a more professional approach and said he plans to honour its invitation on Monday, February 16.

He added that the ICPC delivered a formal letter to his residence around 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, inviting him for questioning the following day. His lawyer, he said, replied that he would first attend to the EFCC invitation before meeting the ICPC early next week.

The DSS and ICPC have not publicly responded to the allegations as of press time.