By Tgnews Reporter
In a bombshell revelation that has rocked Nigeria’s security apparatus and political elite, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has publicly admitted to wiretapping the private phone conversations of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
The confession, made during a fiery interview on Arise TV on Friday, has triggered an immediate and forceful response from the Presidency, with Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, declaring that no one – not even a political heavyweight like El-Rufai – is above the law.
El-Rufai, who has been locked in a bitter feud with the Tinubu administration, claimed that intercepted calls from Ribadu’s phone exposed directives allegedly aimed at his arrest at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
When pressed by the interviewer on the blatant illegality of phone tapping without judicial approval, El-Rufai reportedly doubled down: “Yes, we tapped the phone of NSA Nuhu Ribadu. I know it’s illegal but we did it anyway – after all, the government does it all the time.”
The admission has sent alarm bells ringing across Nigeria’s intelligence community, raising fears of rogue surveillance networks operating outside official channels.
Bayo Onanuga wasted no time in responding. In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter) that has since gone viral, the presidential spokesman pulled no punches:
“El-Rufai confesses to wire-tapping Nigeria’s NSA on TV. Does it mean that he and his collaborators have wire-tapping facilities? This should be thoroughly investigated and punishment meted out. El-Rufai is not too big to face the wrath of the law.”
The development has ignited a storm on social media, with many Nigerians demanding that El-Rufai be held to the same standards he once championed as a reformist governor.
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