The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday granted N100 million bail to the immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai.
The former governor is currently facing a five-count amended charge, marked FHC/ABJ/99/2026, over the alleged unlawful interception of the phone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
The Department of State Services (DSS) alleged that El-Rufai committed the offense alongside other individuals who are currently at large, acting in a manner that compromised public safety and national security.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, the court imposed stringent bail conditions, ordering El-Rufai to produce a surety who must be a federal civil servant not below Grade Level 17.
The surety must reside in either the Maitama or Asokoro highbrow districts of Abuja and deposit the original Certificate of Occupancy of a landed property valued at no less than the bail sum.
Additionally, the surety is required to provide a three-month salary receipt, an authenticated bank manager’s letter, a tax clearance certificate covering the last six months, and a verification letter from their immediate government department.
Furthermore, the court ordered the former governor to surrender his valid international passports and prohibited him from traveling out of the country without prior judicial permission.
As part of the conditions, El-Rufai must also submit a letter of attestation from the chairman of the Kaduna Traditional Council and report to the DSS headquarters every last Friday of the month at 10 a.m. to sign an attendance register.
Justice Abdulmalik, who ordered an accelerated hearing of the case, warned that failure to comply with any of these conditions would lead to an automatic revocation of the bail.
The prosecution’s case hinges on an interview El-Rufai granted on Arise News’ Prime Time programme on February 13, 2026.
The DSS told the court that the defendant admitted during the broadcast to aligning with others to intercept the NSA’s communications, violating Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act, 2024.
The security agency further alleged that El-Rufai admitted to knowing the individual responsible for the wiretapping but failed to report the matter to security agencies, thereby committing a separate offense under Section 27(b) of the same Act, alongside charges under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.
In his defense, El-Rufai filed a motion seeking to quash the charge, listing 17 reasons why the case should be dismissed.
The former governor, who served from 2015 to 2023, argued that the charge was incompetent and legally defective.
He maintained that the DSS has no legal backing to elevate a “casual remark” made during a television interview into a “judicial confession,” arguing that the statement was made without caution, voluntarily, and outside the protections afforded to suspects in custody.
El-Rufai previously claimed his ordeal began following his February 12 arrest at the Abuja airport, asserting the DSS was being instigated by the NSA to detain him.
