The controversy surrounding the failed arrest of former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport has intensified, with the Department of State Services (DSS) detaining five security operatives over their alleged roles in the incident.
The detentions followed a joint investigation conducted by the DSS, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Customs Service and the Federal Ministry of Aviation.
Those taken into custody include Ayuba Yakubu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police; Murtala Inuwa of the DSS; Najeeb Murtala, an Assistant Superintendent of Immigration; and two Aviation Security (AVSEC) officers, Musa Adamu and Salihu Victor.
El-Rufai had arrived in Abuja from Egypt on February 12, 2026, when operatives reportedly attempted to arrest him at the airport. The move was unsuccessful.
His spokesman, Muyiwa Adekeye, later alleged that security personnel seized the former governor’s international passport after he declined to accompany them without a formal invitation. According to Adekeye, the passport was taken from one of his aides during the confrontation.
Three days after the airport incident, El-Rufai honoured an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was later released and is currently in the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over separate allegations.
Sources familiar with the inter-agency probe said the five detained officers allegedly confessed to receiving bribes to facilitate unauthorised access to restricted sections of the airport and to obstruct official security operations.
According to a report from one of the investigating bodies, the officers admitted accepting inducements to grant entry into controlled zones in what was described as an unprecedented breach of protocol. They have since been handed over to the ICPC for prosecution.
The report added that other personnel from the Immigration and Customs services, whose involvement was deemed non-criminal but improper, would face internal disciplinary measures for allegedly misusing their official status to enable unauthorised access.
Meanwhile, El-Rufai’s N1bn fundamental rights enforcement suit suffered a temporary setback at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
When the matter, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/345/2026, came up before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, only counsel to the applicant, Ubong Akpan, was present in court. He informed the judge that although the case was listed for mention, the respondents had yet to be served with court processes. He therefore requested an adjournment to allow proper service.
Justice Abdulmalik adjourned the case until March 11 for further mention.
In the suit filed by his lead counsel, Oluwole Iyamu (SAN), El-Rufai is challenging the legality of a search warrant issued by a Chief Magistrate of the Federal Capital Territory authorising the search of his Abuja residence.
He is asking the court to declare the warrant invalid, null and void on grounds that it lacked specificity, contained drafting errors, was overbroad and unsupported by probable cause.
The former governor argues that the search of his residence at 12 Mambilla Street, Asokoro, on February 19 by operatives of the ICPC and the police violated his constitutional rights to dignity, personal liberty, fair hearing and privacy as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution.
He is seeking N1bn in damages, including N300m for alleged psychological trauma, N400m as exemplary damages to deter future misconduct and N300m as aggravated damages for what he described as oppressive conduct. He is also claiming N100m as the cost of filing the suit.
The ICPC, however, has maintained in court filings before the Federal Capital Territory High Court that its operatives acted within the law under a valid search warrant issued on February 18 and executed the following day.
In a related development, El-Rufai’s wife, Hadiza, dismissed reports that “wiretapping equipment” was recovered from their home during the search. In a social media post, she said the items taken included her bank tokens, insisting they were not surveillance devices.
Her son, Mohammed El-Rufai, who represents Kaduna North Federal Constituency, also described the claims as false and politically motivated.
Earlier in February, El-Rufai had alleged that the phone of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, was tapped, enabling him to overhear a conversation in which his arrest was allegedly ordered, an allegation that has further heightened tensions surrounding the unfolding legal battle.