Alleged wiretapping: Family defends El-Rufai
The family of the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, yesterday rose in his defence against the allegation that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) recovered wiretapping equipment during a raid on his residence. El-Rufai has been in the ICPC’s custody since the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) […]
The family of the former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, yesterday rose in his defence against the allegation that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) recovered wiretapping equipment during a raid on his residence.
El-Rufai has been in the ICPC’s custody since the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) granted him bail on February 18, 2026, following questioning over alleged financial misconduct during his tenure as governor of Kaduna.
Earlier, the ICPC had detailed how it retrieved an equipment capable of tapping conversations from the residence of the former governor.
His son, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai, in a statement on Monday, accused the ICPC of descending into what he described as “a circus of chicanery”.
He alleged that the commission was attempting to weaponize his father’s silence against him.
Bello stated that the family had credible evidence that El-Rufai’s investigation warrant was forged and fraudulently procured.
There was no reaction from the ICPC yesterday to the claims by El-Rufai’s family, but one of its officials told Daily Trust that the commission would respond at an appropriate time.
El-Rufai’s son claimed that when the ICPC raided El-Rufa’i’s residence in Abuja, only “old discarded personal mobile phones some dating back as much as 20 years, storage devices like flash drives and laptops, which are standard possessions of any 21st-century citizen, were seized from the property”, saying the entire foundation of this investigation is rotten
He stated: The ICPC’s press statement presented a list of seized equipment designed to conjure images of espionage and criminality. This list is a work of fiction, for reasons which will soon become known.
- a) Endorsement: This list has not been endorsed by Mallam el-Rufai or his legal representatives. b) Reality: WE WERE PRESENT WHEN THESE ITEMS WERE SEIZED. No equipment other than old discarded personal mobile phones some dating back as much as 20 years, storage devices like flash drives and laptops, which are standard possessions of any 21st-century citizen, were seized from the property. The alleged “sophisticated tapping equipment” and “sensitive security documents” exist only in the fevered imagination of the ICPC and its press team.
“The entire foundation of this investigation is rotten. The search that purportedly uncovered these phantom items originated from a legally defective warrant. We have credible evidence that the warrant was a forgery, fraudulently procured and presented by a Magistrate who was, bizarrely, purporting to sit in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. An illegality of this magnitude—a forgery at the very inception of a state-sponsored search—renders everything that follows it inadmissible and void. Our lawyers have challenged this illegitimate warrant in a court of competent jurisdiction. The ICPC is welcome to explain in court how a Magistrate conjured the jurisdiction of a High Court to sign a warrant based on false premises.
“The ICPC’s statement is a textbook example of projection, the guilty person ascribing his crimes to his victim. It is a document riddled with the very offenses it is meant to combat. “We see before us a litany of forgery, uttering of false documents, and the peddling of falsehood that is nothing short of criminal. This level of unprofessional conduct, abuse of office, and sheer chicanery is the hallmark of an organization that has been completely captured and weaponized. It is an organization so bereft of any redeeming feature of credibility that it must now manufacture evidence to justify its existence.
“We will not be tried in the court of public opinion by a discredited agency acting on behalf of political masters. We have instructed our legal team to pursue all available legal remedies to challenge the illegal search, the forged warrant, and the defamatory statements made by the ICPC. We have absolute faith that the Nigerian judiciary will see through this shameful charade and uphold the rights of our family against this executive overreach.
“It would not surprise us if the ICPC were to produce something of that nature in furtherance of its descent into infamy. After all a court of law has already lampooned ICPC in another matter, of procuring fake search warrants.”
How tapping equipment was recovered from El Rufai’s residence – ICPC
In a deposition by the ICPC before an FCT High Court in a reply to a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by El Rufai challenging his detention in February, the commission explained how it allegedly recovered wiretapping equipment from the former governor.
The ICPC said during the search on El Rufai’s residence on February 19, through a search warrant duly executed on his residence at No 12 Mambila Street, Aso Drive, Asokoro District, Abuja in the presence of his wife Hadiza lsma E-Rufai and son Hon. Mohammed Bello El Rufai, it retrieved electronic magnetic equipment capable of tapping conversations and he was asked to give consent to enable the Commission access the equipment but he refused.
“The search also retrieved sensitive security documents of various security agencies of government and sensitive security document capable of compromising nation security.
“The applicant herein is also threatening likely prosecution witnesses and one of such witnesses has written to the Commission for protection. A copy of the said letter is hereto attached and marked as Exhibit ICPC 6.”
The commission also said it obtained a legal order from a Magistrate Court in Bwari in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to detain el-Rufai for 14 days, which is due to expire on Thursday.
It said all the suspected items were retrieved in the presence of the former governor’s wife, Hadiza, and his son, Mohammed.
It also alleged that the former governor declined to cooperate with investigators, opting to remain silent until he is brought before a court.
It denied allegations of arbitrary detention and repression of the former governor, insisting that el-Rufai was lawfully detained pursuant to a remand order issued by a Magistrate Court in Bwari, FCT.
Also, the ICPC countered El Rufai’s depositions of being unlawfully held in the custody, maintaining that the Commission has not breached any of his fundamental rights as claimed.
The commission said it followed due process in inviting el-Rufai based on a petition alleging corrupt practices.
The petition against Nasir el-Rufai alleged serious financial and administrative irregularities during his tenure as governor of Kaduna State, including discrepancies in the state’s debt profile and questionable cash withdrawals in foreign currency amounting to €1.4 million with unclear purpose.
It accused the administration of diverting public revenue by failing to remit funds into the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and using a debit card linked to a revenue bank account for transactions totaling N721.67 million, allegedly in violation of Section 3.3.1 of the Kaduna State Financial Policies and Procedures Manual 2016.
The petition further cited diversion of N393.75 million to individuals and companies, transfers of N428.12 million to undisclosed accounts, and 180 suspicious payments totalling N2.16 billion from a Consolidated Revenue Account tied to state IGR.
It also alleged the government obtained N98.9 billion in domestic loans and over $7.37 billion in foreign loans, with claims of procurement law violations and abandoned projects despite full payment.
The commission confirmed that an aide of the former governor, allegedly linked to the matter, has left the country.
The ICPC recalled that El Rufai had, on national television i.e. Arise Television confessed to tapping telephone conversations of the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
What El-Rufai said
In a statement on oath to the ICPC, El-Rufai said he was being persecuted as an opposition figure.
He stated that he would exercise his right to silence until arraigned before a court.
He said: “I am a leading member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), which I consider the only surviving opposition party in Nigeria, and that is the real reason I am being investigated.
“Regarding this question and any other questions, I have, on the advice of counsel, decided to exercise my right to silence.
“I believe that after nearly two years of intensive investigation, the ICPC should present its findings before a judicial tribunal and not to me.
“I will respond to any allegations only in a court of law. I do not believe these investigations amount to law enforcement.
“This is political persecution which only a judge can decide upon.”
‘I may be detained indefinitely’: El-Rufai’s pre-arrest message surfaces amid ICPC detention
Last month, El-Rufai urged Nigerians to shun violence and self-help, insisting that no individual had the right to take the law into their own hands, as he remains in the custody of the ICPC.
El-Rufai made the remarks in a fresh video released by his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, amid mounting concerns over his continued detention and ongoing legal battle with federal anti-corruption agencies.
In the video, recorded before he honoured an invitation by the EFCC, the former governor acknowledged the possibility of prolonged detention.
“Hello fellow Nigerians. As I leave my home to honour the invitation of the EFCC, I am quite aware of the likelihood that I may be detained and it’s for an indeterminable length of time. So I thought I should leave a few messages for you so that we continue to communicate,” he said.
El-Rufai stressed that peaceful and lawful conduct remains the bedrock of any democratic society.
“Today I want to speak to you about a very important foundation of democratic society which is peaceful and lawful conduct. It is unacceptable for anyone to take the law into his or her own hands. We should abide by the law,” he said.
He urged citizens to channel private disputes to the courts and allow public institutions to handle broader grievances.
“We should conduct ourselves peacefully and lawfully and when we have disputes, private disputes, we should take them to the courts. Public disputes, the government will intervene. We also have the police and other law enforcement agencies to help arbitrate in the event of disputes,” he stated.
Warning against mob action and violent reprisals, El-Rufai said: “No one should take a machete to settle a quarrel. There are law enforcement agencies that we can report to. Yes, people may complain about the police, but it is the only police we have. So we should work to make it better.”
He added that Nigerians must hold law enforcement agencies accountable while remaining law-abiding.
“We should challenge the police to be better. We should challenge other law enforcement agencies to abide by the law and their rules of conduct and regulations,” he said.
According to him, even minor infractions contribute to a culture of lawlessness.
“Peaceful conduct is the foundation of every democracy and if we want to sustain this democracy, which will lead to the progress of our country, we must restrain ourselves from any kind of unlawful conduct, however minor. Whether it is driving on the wrong side of the road or beating traffic lights, these all amount to unlawful conduct and should be discouraged,” he said.
He concluded by appealing to Nigerians to uphold the rule of law at all times.
“So I want to appeal to all Nigerians to bear this in mind every single day, every single hour and every single second to continue to observe the law and engage in peaceful conduct at all times,” he added.
The video surfaced days after the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, refused to entertain El-Rufai’s bail application, describing it as premature.
Justice Joyce Obehi Abdulmalik adjourned the matter until April 23, 2026, for proper arraignment.
Arraign or release El-Rufai, Bukarti tells ICPC
A lawyer and security expert, Bulama Bukarti, has called on the ICPC to immediately arraign El-Rufai if it has credible evidence against him, warning that prolonged detention without trial undermines due process and the rule of law.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Monday amid reports that investigators allegedly recovered a wiretapping device from El-Rufai’s residence, Bukarti said the matter must move from media debate to judicial scrutiny.
“If ICPC has found any evidence, they should arraign Malam Nasiru El-Rufai,” Bukarti said. “They should not be detaining him for this long. If there is evidence, present it before a court of law.
“This is not a matter that can be litigated on television or on Twitter. It is a matter that must be resolved in a court of law,” he said.
While emphasising that El-Rufai remains entitled to the presumption of innocence, Bukarti maintained that no public office holder is above the law.
“Under Nigeria’s laws, he is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “But if he has committed any offence, he should be punished. The investigation must be transparent and must follow due process.”
On the dispute over the search warrant, Bukarti said even if procedural lapses are eventually established, that alone may not automatically invalidate evidence recovered.
He said: “The position of the law is that if a piece of evidence is obtained through an illegal search, the illegality attaches to the conduct of the investigators, not necessarily to the evidence itself. The court will determine admissibility. What may be punished is the improper act, not automatically the evidence.
“Fraud is a criminal allegation. Anyone alleging that the warrant was fraudulently obtained must prove it beyond reasonable doubt. You cannot simply make such a claim without presenting evidence before a competent court.”
Bukarti further explained that investigators are not under a strict legal obligation to publicly display evidence immediately after a search, noting that proper custody and presentation during trial remain standard procedure.
“What matters is that the evidence is preserved and presented before a court of law,” he said. “If there is disagreement about how the search was conducted, both sides will testify under oath and the court will decide. If there is a case, file it. If there is no case, do not keep a citizen in prolonged detention. Let the court decide,” he said.