Drama unfolded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Thursday, February 12, 2026, as security operatives reportedly attempted to take former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai into custody shortly after he arrived on a flight from Cairo, Egypt. The incident, which has heightened political tensions in the capital, saw the former governor and his team engage in a brief standoff with federal agents.
According to a statement from El-Rufai’s media adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, security personnel approached the former governor as he disembarked and demanded he follow them. El-Rufai reportedly declined the request, insisting that he would not comply without a formal invitation or a legal warrant. Adekeye further alleged that during the encounter, operatives forcibly seized the former governor’s international passport from an aide before the situation de-escalated.
This confrontation follows a series of warnings from El-Rufai regarding what he describes as “politically motivated persecution.” In a recent interview with BBC Hausa and a confidential memo sighted by news outlets earlier this week, the former governor alleged that the Tinubu administration—specifically National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu—was pressuring agencies to detain him. El-Rufai, who recently defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), claimed that several of his former associates in Kaduna have already been arrested as part of a campaign to silence potential 2027 presidential competitors.
The incident at the airport marks a significant escalation in the rift between the former governor and the federal government. While neither the Department of State Services (DSS) nor the Nigerian Immigration Service has issued an official response to the claims of passport seizure, the event has drawn sharp criticism from the ADC leadership, who labeled the attempt as “political intimidation.” This standoff underscores the increasingly volatile environment as the nation’s political heavyweights begin positioning themselves for the next electoral cycle.
