Nigeria, Feb. 18 -- Three very serious allegations were made last week by the former minister of the FCT and former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El Rufai.

First, that he bugged Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the president's national security adviser's phone and is privy to his most sensitive conversations; second, that the national security adviser's office has imported large amounts of dangerous chemical weapons into the country for unspecified purposes; and third, that there is a conspiracy between the NSA and Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, his successor in office, to "destroy him" and "jail him for life".

I have tried to stay away from the raging debate that followed these comments due to my longstanding friendship and respect for...