El-Rufai Blasts Airport Arrest Attempt, Warns Nigeria Against Eroding Rule of Law

|By Chinwendu Nwani

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has cautioned Nigeria against what he described as a growing disregard for the rule of law following an alleged attempt to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

El-Rufai raised the alarm after security operatives, reportedly from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), moved to arrest him on Thursday upon his return from Cairo, Egypt. The operatives were also said to have seized his international passport during the encounter.

Reacting swiftly, El-Rufai’s legal counsel, Ubong Esop Akpan, condemned the action and demanded the immediate return of the passport. The lawyer warned that legal action would follow if the alleged rights violation was not addressed without delay.

In a strongly worded statement, Akpan called for the “immediate and unconditional cessation of all unlawful efforts to detain El-Rufai, the immediate return of his stolen passport, and a formal apology for this egregious infringement on his dignity and rights.”

El-Rufai also took to his verified X handle to denounce the incident, describing the attempted arrest as illegal and symptomatic of executive overreach. He insisted that Nigeria must move away from actions that undermine due process and constitutional safeguards.

“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.”

The alleged incident has since sparked renewed debate over the conduct of security agencies and the protection of citizens’ rights, particularly those of high-profile political figures.