The State Security Service (SSS), has filed cybercrime charges against former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
The charges were presented immediately after El-Rufai’s public admission from an interview on ARISE TV on February 13th, that he accessed intercepted phone conversations belonging to the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
El-Rufai claimed that he had listened to recordings of Ribadu’s private calls. In those recordings, he claimed that the NSA allegedly directed security agencies to detain him. He also acknowledged that tapping an official’s phone is a criminal act;
“I know it’s illegal, but the government does it all the time; they listen to our calls all the time without a court order“.
The Prosecution stated that the actions of the former governor was a clear breach of federal law and that the “Eye-for-an-Eye” justification does not grant private citizens the right to deploy surveillance technology against public officials.
This law is enshrined under the Cybercrime Act 2024 and the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, which prohibits willfully intercepting or accessing electronic communications without authorization, which can include recording conversations without the consent of all involved parties.
Meanwhile, El-Rufai is currently being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) over his eight-year tenure as governor.
