Abuja, Nigeria – Legal counsel to Nasir El-Rufai, the former Governor of Kaduna State, has strongly condemned an alleged attempt by security operatives to arrest him upon his arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Thursday, February 12, 2026. The incident reportedly occurred shortly after El-Rufai disembarked from an Egypt Air flight arriving from Cairo, where he had traveled for medical treatment.
In a statement shared with Okay News by Ubong Esop Akpan, the lead counsel for the former governor, the encounter was described as a “flagrant violation of constitutional rights.” According to the legal team, operatives from the Department of State Services (DSS)—Nigeria’s domestic intelligence agency—moved to detain El-Rufai without presenting a valid warrant or a formal letter of invitation. The statement further alleges that during the confrontation, the operatives forcibly confiscated his international passport, an act the lawyers characterized as the unlawful seizure of private property.
The attempted detention is reportedly linked to an ongoing inquiry by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria’s primary anti-corruption body. Akpan explained that the EFCC had delivered an invitation to El-Rufai’s residence while he was already abroad. The legal team asserted that they had previously corresponded with the commission, providing a written commitment that the former governor would voluntarily appear for questioning at their headquarters at 10:00 a.m. WAT on Monday, February 16, 2026.
The standoff at the airport reportedly drew the attention of fellow travelers, whom the statement claims intervened to demand adherence to due process. El-Rufai’s counsel has since demanded the immediate return of his passport and a formal apology, threatening legal action against the agencies involved for what they termed “executive overreach.” The lawyers reiterated that despite the incident, El-Rufai intends to honor the scheduled meeting with the anti-graft agency next week.
