By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa
Former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has been released from the custody of the State Security Service (SSS), hours after the death of his mother, Hajiya Umma El-Rufai.
His son, Bashir El-Rufai, confirmed the release in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating that his father had returned home to prepare for the funeral of his late grandmother. Bashir described the detention as “unlawful and illegal,” and leveled strong criticism against the security agency, calling it “one of the most corrupt agencies in the Federal Republic of Nigeria that is a lame excuse of a pathetic institution.”
El-Rufai, by himself, honored the EFCC invitation on the 16 of February, 2026. Thereafter, the ICPC took him under detention for weeks without information on why he was detained.
His detention had become a focal point of political tension, particularly given his public fallout with the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC), and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, whom El-Rufai’s supporters accused of orchestrating the arrest.
As of the time of this report, the SSS had not issued an official statement regarding the circumstances of the detention or the terms of El-Rufai’s release. Family sources confirmed that El-Rufai is now with relatives in Kaduna, where funeral arrangements for his mother are underway.
