Former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has described the attempt by security operatives to arrest him at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as executive overreach and a deliberate disregard for the rule of law.
The former governor arrived at the airport to a waiting crowd of supporters who had gathered to welcome him.
In an interview with BBC Hausa on Wednesday, he stated that security agencies might arrest him soon, noting that four of his former aides had already been detained.
On Wednesday evening, he hinted in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that he would be returning to Nigeria soon.
However, a tense atmosphere prevailed at the Abuja airport on Thursday following a reported attempt by security operatives to detain El-Rufai upon his arrival from Cairo.
An aide of the former governor, Muyiwa Adekeye, reported on his X page that armed personnel approached El-Rufai shortly after he landed, attempting to escort him away.
He added that some individuals present intervened, insisting that the former governor would not comply without proper documentation. “The officers walked straight up to him and told him to follow them. But some people around insisted that he would not accompany them like that,” Adekeye said.
El-Rufai was said to have requested to see an official invitation, which could not be provided. “Mallam Nasir had asked them to show him any form of invitation before he joined them at their office, but they couldn’t provide any,” Adekeye added.
Supporters had thronged the airport to welcome the former governor and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress and were seen in a video pushing him and his wife into a Sport Utility Vehicle to exit the airport.
Condemning the development in a post on his X account, El-Rufai accused the authorities of exceeding their powers and flouting the rule of law.
He stated, “My lawyers have issued a statement that condemns the illegal attempt to arrest me today at the Abuja airport upon my arrival from Cairo.
“Our country must outgrow executive overreach.”
El-Rufai defected from the All Progressives Congress to the African Democratic Congress after serving eight years as governor.
His counsel also accused security operatives of attempting to unlawfully arrest his client on Thursday.
In a statement by Ubong Akpan of the Chambers of Ubong Akpan, the lawyer said operatives moved against El-Rufai shortly after he landed aboard Egypt Air flight MS 877 from Cairo.
Akpan said, “We unequivocally condemn the attempted illegal arrest of our client by security operatives this afternoon upon his arrival in Abuja. This is a flagrant violation of constitutional rights, executive overreach, and a deliberate disregard for the rule of law.”
The lawyer stated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had previously issued an invitation to El-Rufai while he was abroad, calling the action unreasonable and impractical.
“The invitation from the EFCC was delivered to Malam El-Rufai’s residence while he was already abroad, rendering it inherently illogical to demand immediate attendance.
“We formally communicated with the EFCC since December 2025, assuring compliance upon his return,” he said.
He added that the commission had been notified that El-Rufai would appear voluntarily.
“Yesterday, we explicitly informed them that he would appear at their office by 10:00 am on Monday, February 16, 2026. Resorting to arrest despite this clear commitment exemplifies arbitrary conduct and undermines procedural integrity,” he stated.
Akpan claimed that Department of State Services operatives tried to detain El-Rufai without showing a warrant or an official invitation.
“Upon his arrival, security operatives moved to arrest Malam El-Rufai without presenting any warrant or letter. When he demanded to see the invitation, none could be produced — no document, no signed directive, no lawful process,” the lawyer said.
He also alleged that the security operatives confiscated El-Rufai’s passport, noting that passengers and other airport users stepped in during the incident.
“In the same unlawful manner, operatives physically snatched his international passport. This act is nothing short of stealing, the unlawful taking of private property by agents of the state acting without colour of authority.
“Ordinary Nigerians present at the airport, incensed by this display, surrounded the scene and insisted loudly that he could only be arrested upon a legitimate process.
“That citizens had to remind security operatives of the constitution is both shameful and instructive,” he added.
Akpan contended that the attempted arrest breached multiple constitutional rights, including the rights to personal freedom, a fair trial, human dignity, freedom of movement, and ownership of property.
“There exists no justifiable basis for this attempted arrest or the accompanying mistreatment,” he said, adding that El-Rufai returned to Nigeria despite alleged intelligence of plans to intercept him.
“This premeditated interception at the airport exemplifies lawlessness and an abuse of state power,” the statement read.
The lawyer called for a prompt cessation of any attempts to arrest El-Rufai and for his passport to be returned without delay.
“We demand the immediate and unconditional cessation of all unlawful efforts to detain Malam El-Rufai, the immediate return of his stolen passport, and a formal apology for this egregious infringement on his dignity and rights,” Akpan said.
The lawyer also stressed that El-Rufai will honour, without preconditions, all legitimate law-enforcement summons.
“Let it be publicly clear: Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai will never take the cowardly route of running away from law enforcement. He will honour, without preconditions, all legitimate law-enforcement summons,” he stated.
Security sources disclosed that operatives of the DSS were responsible for the drama at the airport, not officials of the EFCC.
A security source, who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity, said that although El-Rufai had earlier been invited by the EFCC, the anti-graft agency was not involved in the airport encounter.
“Yes, he was invited by the EFCC, but it was not the anti-graft agency that approached him at the airport. There was an agreement that he would report to the EFCC on Monday, so they had no reason to look for him at the airport,” the source said.
According to the source, the operatives involved were from the DSS, adding that their action did not amount to an arrest.
“Those men are from the DSS. I don’t think they were out to arrest him. If that was the case, nothing would have prevented them from taking him away,” it added.
The source further noted that the DSS had already obtained what it required from him during the encounter.
“What they wanted from him, they already have,” the source added.
Neither the DSS nor the EFCC had officially commented on the incident as of the time of filing this report.
Efforts to also get their reactions failed as of the time of filing this report.
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