When the Watchman is Watched: Nigeria’s Security Architecture in Free Fall *by Olufemi Aduwo

The audacious claim by Nasir El-Rufai that the telephone line of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was illicitly intercepted exposes a scandalous vulnerability at the very heart of the nation’s security architecture.
 
Made during an interview on Arise Television on 13 February 2026, and subsequently rebroadcast by the station on Sunday, 15 February, El-Rufai’s assertion implies prolonged and possibly routine surveillance of senior state officials, allegedly carried out by a professional criminal. If accurate, this is not merely a technical lapse; it is a national security scandal.
 
 
Such susceptibility can only arise from deficient encryption protocols, obsolete telecommunications infrastructure, or insidious insider complicity. Any of these scenarios renders supposedly secure government channels dangerously porous, inviting unauthorised interception and hostile exploitation.The implications are grave. A compromised NSA line imperils classified intelligence, facilitates espionage, and weakens national sovereignty. For President Bola Tinubu, it undermines executive authority and risks breeding paranoia and factional rivalry ahead of the 2027 elections fertile ground for political instability.
Aduwo
 
The Department of State Services must urgently institute a comprehensive investigation to determine how such a breach could occur and, more disturbingly, how it escaped detection. Whether this reflects complacency, institutional decay, or deliberate sabotage remains to be established.
 
History offers sobering parallels. The disclosures by Edward Snowden in 2013 revealed systemic surveillance failures that compelled the United States to expend billions on cybersecurity remediation.
 
“If accurate, this is not merely a technical lapse; it is a national security scandal”
 
Comparable breaches in Nigeria could expose military strategy and diplomatic communications, while forcing defence outlays potentially exceeding ₦500 billion annually at a time when the economy can scarcely absorb such shocks. Investor confidence would inevitably suffer.
 
Accountability must follow. If Ribadu’s communications were indeed compromised under his watch, resignation for dereliction of duty is not excessive it is proper. An NSA who cannot protect his own communications system can hardly be expected to safeguard the President’s lines. Should El-Rufai’s claims be substantiated, then he and any collaborators must face prosecution under Nigeria’s Cybercrimes framework. A state that tolerates unauthorised surveillance of its highest security official advertises weakness to adversaries and invites further subversion. Impunity, in matters of national security, is an existential luxury Nigeria cannot afford. -Aduwo is the permanent representative of CCDI to the ECOSOC/United NationsNB: Centre for Convention on Democratic Integrity (CCDI) is non profit organisation with Consultative Status of United Nations