Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was on Wednesday released by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after days of interrogation.
However, he was reportedly taken into custody shortly after by operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Sources at the EFCC confirmed to The Punch on Wednesday night that the former governor had been released but was immediately picked up by the ICPC.
“We have released him today, but he was shortly picked up after he was released by ICPC,” a source said.
El-Rufai had arrived at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja around 10 am on Monday for questioning and was held by the commission until Wednesday.
The lawyer to the former governor, A. U. Mustapha (SAN), when reached out to by Punch, neither confirmed nor denied the development.
He said, “It is too late to talk. Let’s talk tomorrow.”
FG Files Charges Over Alleged Phone Interception
Meanwhile, the Department of State Services (DSS) has been on standby for El-Rufai’s arraignment over alleged unlawful interception of the phone communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
On Monday, the Federal Government filed a three-count charge against the former governor before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The charges, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, were filed under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
The prosecution alleged that El-Rufai admitted during a television interview that an unnamed associate unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s phone communications and that he listened to them.
According to the charge sheet, the alleged admission was made on February 13, 2026, when El-Rufai appeared as a guest on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme in Abuja.
In count one, the Federal Government alleged that he admitted to unlawfully intercepting the NSA’s phone communications, an offence punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes Act.
Count two accused him of associating with an individual who unlawfully intercepted the communications without reporting the person to the relevant authorities, contrary to Section 27(b) of the Act.
Count three alleged that El-Rufai and others still at large used technical equipment in Abuja in 2026 to unlawfully intercept the NSA’s communications, contrary to Section 131(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act.
During the television interview, El-Rufai had said, “Ribadu made the call because we listened to their calls. The government thinks that they are the only ones who listen to calls. But we also have our ways.”
Separately, the DSS has reopened investigations into the 2019 disappearance of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State.
Dadiyata was declared missing on August 1, 2019, after gunmen reportedly took him from his residence in Kaduna. His whereabouts remain unknown.
A security source told Punch that the DSS recently seized El-Rufai’s passport at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to prevent him from travelling abroad.
Another source said investigators were examining social media posts made by El-Rufai’s sons, Bello and Bashir, following Dadiyata’s disappearance.
“Former governor El-Rufai claimed that until Dadiyata’s disappearance, he did not know anyone by that name. However, social media posts by his sons suggest otherwise,” the source said, adding that Bello and Bashir would be invited to assist with the investigation.
