Sunday February 15, 2026
www.thenewsdesk.ng
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, is under intense scrutiny following his claim that the phone of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was bugged—an allegation that has sparked calls for a full-scale investigation.
Presidential aides, senior politicians, legal practitioners and security experts have described El-Rufai’s disclosure as alarming, insisting that his statement on national television, if true, points to a serious breach of national security and may warrant prosecution. Among those backing calls for a probe is former Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
El-Rufai made the claim during an interview on Arise TV on Friday, where he said he became aware of an alleged plan to arrest him upon his return to Nigeria on Thursday through a leaked conversation purportedly obtained from the NSA’s phone.
The revelation has unsettled political and security circles, with analysts warning that any unauthorised interception of the NSA’s communications would amount to a grave violation of national security protocols and could further inflame political tensions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Reacting swiftly, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, publicly challenged El-Rufai’s account.
In a post on Friday night, Onanuga suggested the former governor had effectively incriminated himself. “El-Rufai has confessed on television to wire-tapping Nigeria’s NSA. Does this mean he and his collaborators possess wire-tapping facilities? This matter should be thoroughly investigated and appropriate sanctions applied. El-Rufai is not above the law,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Former Governor of Kano state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has firmly rejected allegations by his former Kaduna state counterpart, Nasir El-Rufai, linking him to the disappearance of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata.
Responding to El-rufai’s allegation, the former APC national chairman described the allegation as reckless, unfounded and a clear attempt to shift responsibility for an incident that occurred entirely within Kaduna State.
Ganduje’s rejection came on Saturday in a statement signed by former Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs in Kano state, Comrade Muhammad Garba. The former Kano state governor emphasized that Dadiyata lived and operated in Kaduna, where he was widely known for directing his criticisms at the Kaduna state government.
According to him, there is no credible record suggesting that the activist’s primary focus was the Kano state government or Dr. Ganduje.
“Everyone in Kaduna knew the nature of the criticism he made and who it was directed at,” he stated, noting that responsibility for security in Kaduna at the time rested with the state government and the relevant federal security agencies operating there.
The statement called for careful scrutiny of El-Rufai’s recent remarks, stressing that such serious allegations must be supported by verifiable evidence rather than political rhetoric.
Dragging Ganduje into the matter without proof, Garba said, not only politicizes a painful and unresolved episode but also risks further confusing the public over an already sensitive case.
(TheGuardian)