The Department of State Services (DSS) has reportedly arrested several security operatives involved in the return of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai to Nigeria, following a botched attempt to detain him at the Abuja airport on February 12, 2026.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has reportedly taken several security operatives into custody in connection with the return of Malam Nasir El-Rufai to Nigeria from Egypt on February 12, 2026. The arrests follow a highly publicized confrontation at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, where secret police operatives allegedly tried and failed to detain the former Kaduna State governor upon his arrival from Cairo. While the former governor successfully resisted the arrest at the time, his international passport was seized from an aide, an action his legal team has since condemned as a “flagrant violation of constitutional rights.”
Muyiwa Adekeye, the spokesperson for the former governor, had initially alerted the public to the airport incident, noting that his principal refused to comply with the operatives due to the absence of a formal warrant or invitation. “Security agents today attempted to arrest Malam Nasir @elrufai as he arrived on a flight from Cairo. Malam El-Rufai declined to follow them without a formal invitation. They however snatched his international passport from an aide,” Adekeye stated on X. The latest arrests of security personnel are believed to be part of an internal investigation into how the former governor managed to bypass the planned interception or whether there were breaches in the coordination of the failed operation.
The political tension surrounding the former governor has escalated since the airport drama, as he remains in custody following back-to-back interrogations by anti-graft agencies. After voluntarily honoring an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) three days after his arrival, El-Rufai was granted bail but was immediately re-arrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on February 18. He is currently facing separate charges filed by the DSS related to the alleged unlawful interception of communications belonging to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, a claim El-Rufai has dismissed as political persecution.
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