Witness says el-Rufai wiretapped NSA’s phone

Mr Deji Adeyanju, a witness for the Department of State Security (DSS) in the trial of former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has confirmed that the accused confessed to wiretapping the telephone lines of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.

Adeyanju told the Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday that he appeared for an interview programme on Arise Television on February 16, 2026, the same day el-Rufai confessed on the same television.

Adeyanju, who is the second prosecution witness in the trial, cited the former governor as having admitted to the allegation during the interview, saying, “We listened to the conversations of the NSA.”

Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Oluwole Aladedoye, Adeyanju said he was present when el-Rufai made the statements on air and that when further questioned during the interview, the former governor said someone carried out the phone tapping and passed the information to him.

He further confirmed that he knew el-Rufai as a former governor of Kaduna State and recalled issuing a public statement after reports emerged that he was to be arrested by security operatives.

Aladedoye tendered the subpoena that summoned Adeyanju, which was admitted and marked as Exhibit G. The court also viewed the Arise Television interview involving el-Rufai, after which Adeyanju confirmed the recording and the statements allegedly made during the programme.

The prosecution subsequently tendered Adeyanju’s interview on a flash drive, along with a certificate of compliance, both of which were admitted in evidence as Exhibits H and H1.

Under cross-examination by the defence counsel, Paul Erokoro, Adeyanju stated that while he did not specifically hear el-Rufai say that he hacked the NSA’s phone lines, he heard him say, “we listened to the conversations of the NSA.”

Asked whether he knew the means through which the NSA makes 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.

Meanwhile, the prosecution tendered an official gazette without objection from the defence. The document was admitted and marked as Exhibit I. The matter was then adjourned until June 23 for the continuation of the trial.

The DSS had filed a three-count charge against El-Rufai over his alleged involvement in wiretapping Ribadu’s telephone lines, which it said breached the Cybercrimes Prohibition Act (2024) and the Nigerian Communications Act (2003).