Former Kaduna governor declined to provide written statement while in EFCC Custody.
Operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) took former Kaduna governor Nasir el‑Rufai into custody on Wednesday night after he spent two nights at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headquarters in Abuja, multiple sources told OBSERVERS TIMES
Sources said DSS operatives collected el‑Rufai from the EFCC facility after the anti‑graft agency had questioned him in relation to alleged financial improprieties during his tenure as governor of Kaduna State between 2015 and 2023.
“Investigators repeatedly sought a written statement, but he declined to provide one,” one source familiar with the matter told TheCable.
El‑Rufai presented himself at the EFCC on Monday following an invitation from the agency. Insiders said EFCC investigators questioned him over transactions and contracts executed during his administration and attempted on several occasions to secure a signed statement, which he refused to give.
In 2024 the Kaduna State House of Assembly alleged that N423 billion in public funds had been diverted during el‑Rufai’s tenure and urged both the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate. The ICPC has since issued its own invitation to the former governor, the sources added.
Attempts to obtain comment from el‑Rufai’s camp were unsuccessful. TheCable contacted the EFCC and the DSS for comment; both agencies had not responded at the time of publication.
Legal and political observers said the involvement of the DSS in removing a former governor from an EFCC facility is unusual and likely to draw scrutiny from civil rights groups and opposition politicians. Analysts cautioned, however, that the precise legal basis for the DSS action has not been disclosed and that details remain unclear.
