Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, faced a tense confrontation with security operatives at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Thursday, February 12, 2026. Returning from Cairo, Egypt, El-Rufai was met by agents from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS), who attempted to take him into custody.
The former governor refused to comply, arguing that the operatives failed to present a formal warrant or invitation. During the encounter, security agents allegedly “snatched” his international passport from an aide, an action his legal team has characterized as an act of “lawlessness.”
El-Rufai’s counsel, Ubong Esop Akpan, has condemned the incident as a “flagrant violation of constitutional rights.” He explained that while the EFCC had issued an invitation in December 2025, it was served while El-Rufai was already abroad. The legal team had reportedly been in contact with the commission, formally notifying them that the former governor would appear voluntarily at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, February 16, 2026.
Akpan has demanded the immediate and unconditional cessation of efforts to detain El-Rufai and the immediate return of his stolen passport and a formal apology for this egregious infringement on his dignity and rights. Taking to his X handle, El-Rufai framed the incident as a systemic failure in Nigeria’s democracy. He wrote, “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 and deliberate ‘disregard for the rule of law.’”
The former governor, who recently defected to the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), had predicted his arrest just a day earlier. In a BBC Hausa interview, he claimed he was being targeted for political reasons, noting that several of his former associates in Kaduna have already been detained on what he calls phantom charges.
Eyewitness reports and videos from the airport showed a crowd of supporters and passengers surrounding El-Rufai during the scuffle. They reportedly insisted that security agents follow due process, which allowed the former governor to eventually leave the airport, albeit without his travel documents.
