ABUJA—Former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, may spend the night at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, headquarters in Abuja, where investigators are questioning him over allegations of financial misconduct involving about N432 billion.
This came as the Federal Government, yessterday, filed a three-count charge against El-Rufai, alleging that he unlawfully intercepted the phone communication of the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu.
This is even as pregnant women and children got choked as operatives of the EFCC, fired teargas to disperse pro and anti-El-Rufai supporters, who clashed at the office of the anti-graft agency in Abuja also yesterday.
An EFCC source confirmed that the former governor is currently with investigators but said it was still unclear how long the session will last.
“He is with our investigators, but cannot confirm how long he would be questioned, it is still early to know how long he will stay there,” the source said.
The former Kaduna governor, is under investigation over loans obtained during his administration, which a Kaduna State House of Assembly ad-hoc committee alleged were mismanaged or used without due process.
He has denied the allegations, insisting they are politically motivated.
Reacting to the political dimension of the development, opposition figure and former presidential spokesman Umar Sani, said: “Nasir El-Rufai’s engagements are deliberate and calculated designed to drag the government out of its comfort zone and force it into open confrontation.
“The objective is to expose the intellectual hollowness of those in power, publicly ridicule them, and push them into disarray. Fully aware that this government is intolerant of criticism, he exploits that weakness effectively.
“In this regard, he is succeeding. El-Rufai has become a one-man riot squad and, unmistakably, the face of the opposition.”
FG files charges against el-Rufai
The charge against the former Kaduna governor, by a team of five prosecutors from the Department of State Services, DSS, led by M. Ernest, was filed at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
It was alleged that El-Rufai, who was governor between 2015 and 2023 and also Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, under former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, committed the crime with some people currently on the run.
According to the charge, the defendant admitted on February 13 when he appeared as a guest on Arise TV’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja, that he aligned with others and unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
It alleged that the erstwhile governor had, in the course of the television interview, stated that he knew and related to a certain individual who had unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s telephone communications without reporting him to the relevant security agencies.
By failing to report the crime, El-Rufai was said to have committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 27 (b) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition , Prevention, etc) Amendment, Act, 2024.
More so, FG alleged that the defendant, while acting in cahoots with others still at large, used technical equipment that compromised public safety, national security and instilled reasonable apprehension of insecurity among Nigerians, following the unlawful interception of the NSA’s calls.
He was accused of committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 131 (2) Nigerian Communications Act 2003.
Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for the defendant to be arraigned in court to enter his plea to the charges levelled against him by FG.
It will be recalled that El-Rufai, in his reaction to what he described as an attempt by operatives of the DSS to “abduct” him at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on February 12, 2026, on return from Cairo, insisted that the security agency was being instigated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, which, he said, had received a directive from the NSA, Ribadu, to detain him.
He claimed the information got to him through someone who listened in on the NSA’s telephone conversations.
The three-count charge read: “That you, Mallam Nasir E-Rufai, adult, male, on 13th February, 2026, while appearing as a guest on Arise TV Station’s Prime Time Programme in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this court, did admit during the interview that you and your cohorts unlawfully intercepted the Phone Communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 12 (1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc) Amendment, Act, 2024.
Pregnant women, children choke as EFCC fires teargas at pro, anti El-Rufai protesters
Meanwhile, there was panic at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja yesterday after teargas allegedly fired by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to disperse pro and anti-El-Rufai protesters wafted into the hospital premises, leaving patients and caregivers gasping for breath.
Vanguard gathered that the protesters had assembled at the EFCC headquarters in Jabi in solidarity with former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, who was invited for questioning by the anti-graft agency over alleged corruption linked to his tenure.
El-Rufai had reportedly arrived at the EFCC facility earlier in the day, accompanied by hundreds of supporters, a development that led to heightened security presence in the area and heavy traffic congestion along the Jabi-Airport Road corridor.Trouble, however, began when operatives moved to disperse the crowd. Shortly after teargas canisters were discharged, fumes drifted towards the nearby Federal Medical Centre, causing distress among vulnerable patients, including pregnant women and children, receiving treatment.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of confusion as patients scrambled for safety within the hospital complex.
Some were seen hurriedly covering their noses with face masks and pieces of cloth to shield themselves from the choking smoke.
A pregnant woman, who spoke to Vanguard during her antenatal visit, recounted the ordeal, saying “even inside the hospital, everyone was struggling to breathe. My eyes were filled with tears, I was coughing, and it wasn’t just me. We were running into each other in panic. It was not a good experience at all.’’
She expressed concern over the proximity of the anti-graft agency’s headquarters to a major health facility, noting that the discharge of teargas so close to sick patients posed serious health risks. “It’s not a good option at all, especially in a place where there are sick people.
, pregnant women and children,” she added.
Vanguard recalls that El-Rufai had earlier resisted arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport last weekend, an incident that further heightened political tensions surrounding the ongoing investigation.At press time yesterday, the anti-graft agency had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
VANGUARD.
