A former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has condemned what he described as an illegal attempt by security operatives to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, after his arrival from Cairo, Egypt.
El-Rufai stated this in a post on his verified X page on Thursday, where he accused authorities of executive overreach and disregard for the rule of law.
“My lawyers have issued a statement that condemns the illegal attempt to arrest me today at the Abuja airport upon my arrival from Cairo,” El-Rufai wrote.
“Our country must outgrow executive overreach and deliberate disregard for the rule of law,” he added.
Chronicle NG reports that security agents had moved to arrest the former governor shortly after he landed in Abuja.
According to a post by his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, the operatives approached El-Rufai at the airport and attempted to detain him without an official invitation or warrant.
The aide claimed that the former Minister of the FCT refused to follow the agents without due process, insisting on a legal invitation, following which the operatives allegedly snatched his international passport from one of his aides before fleeing.
The statement read, “Security agents today attempted to arrest Malam Nasir El-Rufai as he arrived on a flight from Cairo. Malam El-Rufai declined to follow them without a formal invitation.”
Adekeye also alleged that the security personnel seized the former governor’s passport during the encounter.
“They, however, snatched his passport from an aide,” he added.
As of the time of reporting this post, security officials had not issued an official statement clarifying the circumstances surrounding the incident or confirming if the ex-governor was under investigation.
The development has reignited debate over the actions of security agencies, as well as worries about alleged executive overreach, particularly concerning opposition figures and former public officials.
