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By Goli Innocent
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, was almost arrested at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, according to his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye.
Adekeye claimed in a post on X that the incident occurred shortly after El-Rufai returned from Cairo, Egypt. Security operatives reportedly approached the former governor as he disembarked from his flight.
“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. They, however, snatched his passport from an aide,” Adekeye wrote.
According to eyewitnesses from El-Rufai’s camp, he refused to accompany the operatives, insisting that proper legal procedures must be followed. He was quoted as telling the security agents:
“Nobody can tell me what to do, not even the president. It’s a free country. If you want to invite me, you write me.”
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As of the time of reporting, neither the Nigerian Immigration Service nor the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria has commented on the alleged incident.
The development comes amid rising political tensions in Nigeria.
El-Rufai, who recently defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Social Democratic Party (SDP), previously stated that several associates who worked with him in Kaduna have already been detained.
“Four people we worked with in Kaduna have been arrested; so it’s only a matter of time before they come for me too,” he said during an interview with BBC Hausa.
The former governor has, in recent months, been outspoken about his dissatisfaction with the current administration, alleging growing pressure on politicians to either remain in the APC or face consequences.
