Daud Olatunji
The Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested and detained five officers from the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) for allegedly accepting bribes that undermined a failed attempt to arrest former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The attempted arrest, which occurred on February 12, 2026, as El-Rufai returned from Cairo, Egypt, ended without his detention, though his international passport was seized during the incident.
Muyiwa Adekeye, the former governor’s spokesperson, disclosed on X that security agents tried to detain El-Rufai without presenting a formal invitation, prompting him to refuse their orders.
“They, however, snatched his international passport from an aide,” Adekeye said.
Following the airport standoff, El-Rufai appeared before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and was interrogated for three days.
While granted bail by the anti-graft agency, he was later taken into custody by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), where he remains detained.
In a fresh statement, the DSS alleged that El-Rufai avoided arrest at the airport by bribing officials to obstruct lawful security procedures.
The agency’s joint investigation with the NIS, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and the Federal Ministry of Aviation led to the detention of five officers, including: ASP Ayuba Yakubu, Nigeria Police Force ; Murtala Inuwa, DSS ; ASI Najeeb Murtala, NIS ; Musa Adamu, Aviation Security (AVSEC) ; and Salihu Victor, AVSEC
The DSS stated that the officers confessed to receiving bribes to grant unauthorised access to restricted areas of the airport and to interfere with ongoing security operations.
“They have all admitted to facilitating unauthorised entry into Restricted Areas, obstructing lawful security operations in an unprecedented manner,” the agency said.
The detained personnel have been transferred to the ICPC for prosecution. Others implicated for enabling unauthorised access without taking bribes are expected to face internal disciplinary action.
El-Rufai has consistently denied any wrongdoing, describing the actions against him as politically motivated and accusing the current administration of orchestrating a targeted witch-hunt.
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