DSS to Arraign Nasir El-Rufai for Cybercrime Charges

The Department of State Services (DSS) has scheduled to arraign former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai at the Federal High Court in Abuja on February 25, 2026. The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, is assigned to Justice Joyc Abdulmalik, with Justice John Tsoho also involved.

The DSS has filed three counts of criminal charges against El-Rufai, accusing him of unlawfully intercepting telephone communications, which allegedly contravenes the provisions of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act 2024 and the Nigerian Communications Act 2003. The first count alleges that during a live television interview on February 13, 2026, El-Rufai admitted to unlawfully intercepting communications from the National Security Adviser (NSA).

The second count accuses him of failing to report the interception of NSA communications to relevant security agencies. El-Rufai is also linked to an incident involving the attempted arrest of Nnamdi Azikiwe at the international airport on February 12, 2026.

Following his detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over a separate N432 billion fraud case, he was reportedly released but taken into custody again by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).