Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai on Thursday accused Nigerian security operatives of attempting to unlawfully arrest him at Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, describing the move as executive overreach and a violation of the rule of law.
The incident occurred shortly after El-Rufai arrived from Cairo aboard Egypt Air flight MS 877, according to his lawyer and aides.
An aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, said on social media that armed personnel approached the former governor after he landed and asked him to follow them. People around him insisted that he would not comply without proper documentation, Adekeye said.
El-Rufai requested to see an official invitation or warrant, but none was produced, Adekeye added.
In a post on X, El-Rufai said his lawyers had issued a statement condemning what he called an illegal attempt to arrest him. “Our country must outgrow executive overreach,” he wrote.
In a statement, Ubong Akpan, a lawyer representing El-Rufai, said security operatives moved against his client without presenting a warrant or written invitation. He alleged that officers confiscated El-Rufai’s passport during the encounter.
“We unequivocally condemn the attempted illegal arrest of our client,” Akpan said, calling it a violation of constitutional rights and due process.
Akpan said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had previously invited El-Rufai for questioning while he was abroad. The lawyer said his chambers informed the commission in December 2025 that El-Rufai would comply upon his return to Nigeria.
He added that the EFCC was notified Wednesday that El-Rufai would appear at its office at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.
Security sources, however, said the operatives involved were from the Department of State Services not the EFCC. Speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly, the sources said the encounter did not amount to an arrest.
“Yes, he was invited by the EFCC, but it was not the anti-graft agency that approached him at the airport,” one source said, adding that the EFCC had no reason to intercept him since he had agreed to report on Monday.
The source said the DSS had obtained what it required from El-Rufai during the encounter but declined to provide further details.
Neither the DSS nor the EFCC had issued an official statement as of the time of filing this report.
Supporters gathered at the airport to welcome El-Rufai, who recently defected from the All Progressives Congress to the African Democratic Congress after serving two terms as governor of Kaduna State.
In a BBC Hausa interview earlier in the week, El-Rufai said he believed he could soon be arrested and noted that four of his former aides had already been detained.
His lawyer called for the immediate return of El-Rufai’s passport and demanded that authorities cease any further attempts to detain him, while insisting that the former governor would honor any lawful summons from law enforcement agencies.
