Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, remains in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after his bail arrangement dramatically collapsed.
The former governor, who is under investigation for the alleged misappropriation of over N433 billion during his eight-year tenure, was initially granted administrative bail by the commission.
According to a report by Sahara Reporters, sources close to the investigation revealed that the conditions required a Permanent Secretary and a Director in a Federal Ministry to stand as sureties for the embattled ex-governor.
However, in a stunning turn of events, the bail process fell apart when the Permanent Secretary, who had reportedly arrived at the EFCC headquarters to perfect the bail papers, backed out at the last minute.
According to the report, sources within the anti-graft agency, the senior civil servant withdrew from the arrangement after claiming to have received threats. The source disclosed that the Permanent Secretary, who had initially agreed to stand as a surety, expressed fear for his personal safety and that of his family, leading to his abrupt decision to abandon the former governor.
“The Permanent Secretary came to the office to complete the formalities, but something happened. He became visibly uncomfortable and later informed our operatives that he was pulling out. We gathered that he had been receiving threats, and he said he valued his life too much to proceed,” the source told SaharaReporters.
The development has left El-Rufai in detention for a third consecutive day, as the EFCC is now forced to either revalidate the bail with new sureties or continue holding him pending the conclusion of the investigation into the massive fraud allegation.
The collapse of the bail arrangement is a major blow to the former governor, who was expected to honour an invitation from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) today for questioning over separate corruption allegations. It remains uncertain whether he will be able to attend the session with the ICPC as he remains behind bars at the EFCC facility.
Meanwhile, the legal woes of the former governor deepened on Tuesday when the Department of State Services (DSS) filed charges against him at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The DSS alleges that El-Rufai unlawfully intercepted the phone communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The charges stem from an interview El-Rufai granted on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on February 13, 2026, where he allegedly made incriminating admissions about intercepting the NSA’s communications.
Count one of the charge sheet, marked FHC/CR/99/2026, alleges that the former governor violated Section 12(1) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act, 2024, by admitting during the television interview that he and his cohorts unlawfully intercepted Ribadu’s phone communications.
The charge sheet further alleges in count two that El-Rufai admitted to knowing and relating with individuals who allegedly intercepted the NSA’s communications but failed to report them to security agencies, an offence under Section 27(b) of the same Act.
Count three accuses El-Rufai and “others still at large” of using technical systems that allegedly compromised public safety and national security by unlawfully intercepting the NSA’s phone communications, contrary to Section 131(2) of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
As of press time, El-Rufai’s legal team had reportedly written to the ICPC to formally notify the commission that their client would be unable to attend the scheduled interrogation due to his continued detention by the EFCC.
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