“The NSA’s call was tapped. They do that to our calls too, and we heard him saying they should arrest me.”
The former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has alleged that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, ordered his arrest and is behind the alleged attempt to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday.
Speaking on Friday in an interview with Arise Television, the former governor claimed that Mr Ribadu personally ordered his arrest.
It was earlier reported that Mr El-Rufai was involved in a heated verbal exchange with security operatives at the Abuja airport, shortly after his arrival in the country.
According to eyewitness accounts, security officials briefly restrained him and confiscated his international passport before he was escorted out of the airport amid chants from supporters who had gathered to receive him.
Claims NSA’s phone call intercepted
Mr El-Rufai alleged that the NSA’s phone conversation was intercepted, and that he heard the NSA directing security operatives to detain him.
“The NSA’s call was tapped. They do that to our calls too, and we heard him saying they should arrest me,” Mr El-Rufai claimed.
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The former governor did not provide evidence to substantiate the allegation, and there has been no official response from Mr Ribadu as of the time of filing this report. However, the NSA has previously denied similar allegations.
On Friday, a presidential aide expressed concern about Mr El-Rufai’s latest claim.
“El-Rufai admitted on a national television that someone tapped the phone of the NSA for him to listen to his conversation. When Charles Aniagolu, the interviewer, interjected that that was an illegal action, El-Rufai agreed to the illegality. By the time he is picked up to produce the person who illegally tapped the NSA’s phone, he would say President Tinubu is a ‘tyrant’ and persecuting him,” Temitope Ajayi, the senior special assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, wrote on Facebook.
Allegations against Kaduna governor, ICPC chairman
Mr El-Rufai also alleged that Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani, NSA Ribadu, and the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had conspired to abduct him.
“Let me tell you, Kaduna Governor Uba Sani, the NSA and the ICPC chairman have arranged that I get abducted unfailingly today,” he said during the interview.
These claims come amid rising political tension between Mr El-Rufai and some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), following his consistent public criticism of the Bola Tinubu administration.
Dadiyata’s disappearance
During the interview, Mr El-Rufai was also asked about the disappearance of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata, a social media commentator who was abducted from his Kaduna residence in 2019 and has not been seen since.
The former governor denied any involvement in the incident and rejected suggestions that his administration played a role in the activist’s disappearance.
According to him, Dadiyata was primarily a critic of political actors in Kano State rather than Kaduna.
“Dadiyata lives in Kaduna; he was not a critic of Kaduna State. We barely knew he resided in Kaduna until his abduction was reported. He was a critic of the Kano government at the time,” he said, suggesting that questions should instead be directed at political figures in Kano.
The case of Dadiyata remains unresolved despite repeated calls from civil society groups for a thorough investigation.
Kwankwaso and US legislative move
Mr El-Rufai also reacted to a bill proposed by some United States lawmakers, demanding sanctions against former Kano State Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso over alleged links to terrorism in Nigeria.
He described the development as politically motivated, dismissing claims that Mr Kwankwaso was associated with terrorism.
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Mr El-Rufai argued that if scrutiny was to be applied to political actors over the introduction of Sharia law in northern Nigeria, attention should instead focus on Zamfara State, where it was first implemented under then-governor Ahmad Yerima.
He also referenced subsequent administrations in Zamfara, suggesting that controversies surrounding the application of Sharia occurred there rather than in Kano under Mr Kwankwaso.
Readiness to appear before EFCC
Despite alleging political persecution, Mr El-Rufai said that he was willing to honour lawful invitations from security and anti-corruption agencies.
He confirmed that he would appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday in response to an invitation for questioning.
“I have nothing to hide,” he said, denying any wrongdoing during his eight-year tenure as governor of Kaduna State.
Both the EFCC and ICPC are investigating corruption allegations against Mr El-Rufai.
The former Kaduna governor was a prominent member of the APC and strongly supported the election of President Bola Tinubu. He, however, fell out with the party after the Senate rejected his nomination as minister and his successor as Kaduna governor started probing his administration.