Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu of allegedly masterminding an attempt to detain him at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday, following his return from Cairo, Egypt.
El-Rufai told former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who visited him for solidarity, that operatives from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) – not the EFCC—approached him at the airport and tried to take him into custody.
He alleged that the DSS acted on instructions from the ICPC, which had never formally invited him for questioning, claiming the ICPC chairman acted under the direct orders of Nuhu Ribadu.
El-Rufai described the incident as politically motivated.
He said, “It turned out that it’s the ICPC that procured DSS to abduct me and handed me over to them. The ICPC has never invited me. We just understand that it’s ICPC, not EFCC, that’s responsible for what happened today, and the ICPC Chairman is acting on the direct order of Nuhu Ribadu.”
Meanwhile the Department of State Services (DSS) confirmed it seized El-Rufai’s international passport at the airport, acting on a request from an anti-graft agency.
A DSS source told Arise News that the action was meant solely to ensure El-Rufai honours an outstanding invitation from the anti-graft agency, widely reported as the EFCC, for questioning in an ongoing investigation.
The source emphasized that there was no attempt to arrest or detain him.
In response to the incident, Atiku Abubakar expressed sympathy with El-Rufai and condemned the alleged move, calling for a strong opposition to counter what he described as President Bola Tinubu’s plan to consolidate power.
He stated, “We must come together and form a very viable opposition because Tinubu is determined to turn Nigeria into a one-party system.”
As of now, no official statement has been issued by the ICPC, EFCC, or the office of the National Security Adviser addressing El-Rufai’s allegations.
