He was, however, reportedly taken into custody by the operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and Other Related Offences Commission.
Sources at the EFCC confirmed to The PUNCH. on Wednesday night that the former governor had been released but was shortly taken into custody by operatives of the ICPC.
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.
“We have released him today, but he was shortly picked up after he was released by ICPC,” a source said.
Efforts to obtain official confirmation from the ICPC failed as calls to the spokesman, John Odey, were not answered.
El-Rufai’s lawyer, A. U. Mustapha (SAN), neither confirmed nor denied the claim when contacted.
“It is too late to talk. Let’s talk tomorrow,” he told The PUNCH.
The number of his media aide, Muyiwa Adeleye, indicated it was unreachable when it was called.
The DSS has been on standby for the arraignment of El-Rufai over alleged unlawful interception of the phone communications of the National Security Adviser, and also the reopened investigation into the disappearance of Abubakar Idris, popularly known as Dadiyata.
On Monday, the Federal Government filed criminal charges against El-Rufai before the Federal High Court, Abuja, over alleged unlawful interception of the phone communications of the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu.
The three charges, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, were filed under the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, and the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
It accused El-Rufai of admitting during a television interview that an unnamed associate unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s phone communications, and 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 El-Rufai admitted during the interview that he and his associates unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s phone communications, an offence punishable under Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes Act. Count two accused him of knowing and associating with an individual who unlawfully intercepted the NSA’s communications without reporting the person to 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, an offence punishable under Section 131(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act.
The charges followed El-Rufai’s appearance on Arise TV last Friday, during which he claimed he learned of an alleged plan to arrest him through a leaked conversation from the NSA’s phone.
“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,” he had said.
Separately, the DSS reopened investigations into the 2019 disappearance of Dadiyata, a lecturer at the Federal University Dutsinma, Katsina State, who was declared missing on August 1, 2019, after gunmen reportedly took him from his residence in Kaduna. His whereabouts remained unknown.
A security source told The 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.
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