Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai was reportedly rearrested on Wednesday night by the Department of State Services shortly after regaining freedom from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
El-Rufai had been in EFCC custody since Monday over corruption-related allegations and was granted bail around 8 pm on Wednesday.
However, witnesses said DSS operatives were stationed at the EFCC headquarters and immediately took him into custody upon his release.
Sources indicated that the DSS action is linked to allegations that the former governor unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
Earlier in the week, the DSS filed cybercrime charges against El-Rufai at the Federal High Court in Abuja over the alleged phone-tapping incident.
The case followed remarks he made during a live interview on Arise TV, where he claimed that Ribadu’s phone had been tapped and that he overheard instructions directing security operatives to detain him.
El-Rufai also alleged that the directive led to an attempted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, where he reportedly had a confrontation with security personnel and briefly had his passport seized before being escorted out.
Prosecutors accused him of cybercrime offences, claiming he admitted to intercepting the NSA’s communications and failed to disclose others allegedly involved.
They further argued that the action endangered public safety and national security.
The charges are said to be based on provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024, and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
No date has been fixed for his arraignment, and El-Rufai has yet to publicly respond to the latest allegations.
The sequence of his detention by the EFCC and subsequent arrest by the DSS has intensified the legal and political controversy surrounding the former governor.
