During the ongoing trial of former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai, a witness from the Department of State Services (DSS) testified that the accused had openly acknowledged intercepting the National Security Adviser’s phone conversations. Deji Adeyanju, appearing as the second prosecution witness, told the Federal High Court in Abuja that he heard El-Rufai admit on a live television broadcast that “we listened to the conversations of the NSA.”
Adeyanju recounted that he was a guest on the same Arise Television program on February 16, 2026, the day El-Rufai made the incriminating remarks. He stated that he later issued a public statement after news broke that security operatives planned to arrest the former governor. The prosecution submitted a subpoena compelling Adeyanju’s testimony, which was accepted as Exhibit G.
The court also played a recording of the Arise TV interview featuring El-Rufai. Adeyanju confirmed the authenticity of the clip and the statements attributed to the former governor. Subsequently, the prosecution presented Adeyanju’s own interview on a flash drive along with a compliance certificate; these were admitted as Exhibits H and H1.
Under cross-examination by defense counsel Paul Erokoro, Adeyanju clarified that El-Rufai did not specifically say he personally hacked the NSA’s phone lines. Instead, the former governor stated that someone else carried out the interception and passed the information to him. When asked whether he knew how the NSA makes calls or if the DSS had asked which device was compromised, Adeyanju replied that those details were not his concern.
The prosecution also submitted an official gazette as Exhibit I without objection from the defense. The trial was adjourned to June 23 for further proceedings.
The DSS charged El-Rufai with three counts under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003. The charges stem from his alleged involvement in wiretapping NSA Nuhu Ribadu’s phone lines, as confessed during the Arise TV interview.