…moves to probe former Kaduna gov, says ‘he’s not too big to face the law’
Following the alleged confession of former governor of Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai, that he masterminded the tapping of the telephone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Presidency has called for a thorough investigation into the alleged confession.
The Federal Government in a statement issued on Saturday by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, questioned the implications of the alleged admission and urged relevant authorities to take action.
Onanuga wrote, “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.”
Recall that on Friday evening, the former governor had made the confession while speaking on Arise TV.
He said, “Ribadu made the call because we listened to their calls. The government thinks that they’re the only ones that listen to calls. But we also have our ways. He made the call. He gave the order that they should arrest me.”
He also acknowledged that the action may have been technically wrong.
He added, “Because that technically is illegal. I know, but the government does it all the time. They listen to our calls all the time without a court order. But someone tapped his phone and told us that he gave the order.”
Recall that security agents attempted to arrest the former governor of Kaduna State and chieftain of African Democratic Congress, ADC, on Thursday, on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, from Cairo, Egypt.
The attempted arrest was, however, botched, while his passport was reportedly seized from one of his aides.
He was said to have declined to go with the security agents, without a formal invitation.
His media aide, Muyiwa Adeleye, disclosed this to newsmen in a statement.
Recall also that prior to that, El-Rufai had raised the alarm that he could be arrested by the Federal Government at any time.
El-Rufai had made the allegation during an interview with the BBC Hausa, a day prior to the botched arrest.
Political analysts who pleaded anonymity, however, expressed deep reservation over the former governor’s confession.
They expressed the belief that if the phone of the NSA could be hacked or tapped, then how save is the server of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from hackers during the electronic transmission of electoral results?
Meanwhile, a former presidential aide and ambassador-designate, Reno Omokri, has criticised el-Rufai over his confession during the Arise TV interview, describing the alleged admission of phone tapping as callous.
Omokri, in a post on official handle on X on Friday night, averred that tapping a phone call without a court order is a crime.
He enthused that El-Rufai admitting to such action publicly, raises serious legal and ethical concerns.
He said, “Tapping a phone call without a court order is a crime. Admitting to it on live television is callous.
“Confessing that you were an accessory after the fact to unnamed individuals in the illegal tapping of a call is an open-and-shut case of your own culpability.”
Questioning who else has been target of this open admission, Omokri said, “Who else has Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and his agents been tapping?”
“Has he and his associates been helping terrorists and coup plotters to tap the phone calls of their intended victims?”
In another post, Omokri advised el-Rufai to keep talking, saying, “No wonder Nasir @elrufai boasted that he would unseat President Tinubu in 2027. Has he also tapped the INEC chairman’s phone number?”
Omokri added that the el-Rufai confession raises questions about the push for real-time transmission of election results, arguing that if it is possible to intercept the phone of a National Security Adviser, then electoral technologies such as INEC’s IREV portal and BVAS devices could also be vulnerable to compromise.
He added, “Nasir el-Rufai, keep talking. Keep digging. Keep exposing yourself.”