Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has alleged that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) directed operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest him upon his return to Nigeria.
The allegation follows a brief drama on Thursday at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, where security operatives reportedly attempted to engage the former governor shortly after he arrived from Cairo, Egypt.
According to Muyiwa Adekeye, media aide to the former governor, DSS operatives approached el-Rufai immediately after he disembarked from his flight. However, el-Rufai declined to accompany them, insisting on a formal letter of invitation.
In an interview with the BBC published on Friday, el-Rufai recounted that DSS officials requested that he follow them to their office for what they described as a meeting.
“When I got down from the plane, some DSS people came and said I should come to their office for a meeting,” he said. “I asked them for a letter of invitation, and they said they would show me when we got out of the airport.”
El-Rufai further claimed that about 50 security operatives were present at the airport in connection with his arrival.
He said the operatives requested his passport, but he insisted on completing his immigration biometrics himself before proceeding. “I said no, I always do my immigration biometrics. I went there, did that, and walked out,” he stated.
According to him, two senior officials later identified themselves as DSS personnel and reiterated the request that he accompany them. However, he maintained that he was entitled to a formal letter of invitation as a Nigerian citizen.
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“All I asked for is the courtesy of a letter of invitation. That is what I believe I am entitled to as a Nigerian. They did not have a letter,” he said.
El-Rufai alleged that he later learned that the ICPC had enlisted the DSS to arrest him.
“Subsequently, we learnt that it was ICPC that procured the DSS to do the abduction. I was supposed to be abducted by the DSS and taken to ICPC,” he claimed.
The ICPC has yet to publicly respond to the allegation at the time of filing this report.
Responding to critics who questioned why he would resist arrest if he had nothing to hide, el-Rufai said his concerns were rooted in what he described as growing authoritarian tendencies.
“I’m afraid of tyranny, undemocratic practices and people that don’t understand that in a democracy, the executive is not all-in-all,” he said.
He further alleged that democratic institutions were being undermined. “There is a legislature that should be allowed to function, which has not been allowed to function. There is a judiciary that is supposed to be independent, which is being procured and weaponised against the opposition.”
Prior to his return to Nigeria, el-Rufai had publicly expressed fears of a possible politically motivated arrest.
Meanwhile, two of his associates — Jimi Lawal and Amadu Sule — are currently facing charges of alleged fraud and money laundering brought by the ICPC.
The airport incident adds a fresh dimension to the ongoing tensions between the former governor and anti-corruption authorities, raising questions about due process and the broader political climate.