El-Rufai Confessed to Wire‑tapping NSA’s Phone in TV Interview, Witness Says to Court

A witness for the Department of State Services (DSS) in the trial of former Kaduna State governor Nasir Ahmad El‑Rufai has admitted that El‑Rufai confirmed wiretapping the National Security Adviser’s (NSA) telephone lines during a television interview.

The witness, Deji Adeyanju, testified as the second Prosecution Witness (PW2) on Monday before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court. He said El‑Rufai appeared on an interview programme on Arise Television on February 16, the same day the former governor made the confession on the same television.

“During the interview, the former governor admitted that ‘we listened to the conversations of the NSA,’” Adeyanju told the court. He added that he had known El‑Rufai as a former governor of Kaduna State and had issued a public statement after reports emerged that the former governor would be arrested by security operatives.

The prosecution presented the subpoena used to summon Adeyanju, which was admitted and marked as Exhibit G. The court also viewed the Arise Television interview, after which Adeyanju confirmed the recording and the statements allegedly made during the programme. The prosecution later submitted Adeyanju’s own interview, contained on a flash drive, along with a certificate of compliance; these were admitted as Exhibits H and H1.

While giving evidence, Adeyanju said he was later invited by the DSS, where he was asked to recount what transpired at the television studio. He confirmed that he was present when El‑Rufai made the statements on air and that, when further questioned, the former governor said 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 he did not hear El‑Rufai specifically say he hacked the phone lines of the NSA, but he heard him say, “we listened to the conversations of the NSA.” When asked whether he knew the means through which the NSA made 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.

The prosecution also tendered an official gazette, which was admitted and marked as Exhibit I. The matter was adjourned until June 23 for continuation of the trial.

El‑Rufai is on trial for his alleged involvement in wiretapping the NSA’s telephone lines. The three‑count charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, alleges that the former governor breached the Cybercrimes Prohibition Act (2024) and the Nigerian Communications Act (2003).