By Muhammad Mamman
Abuja, Nigeria — Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai was briefly confronted by security operatives on his return to Nigeria from Cairo on Monday, in an incident his media team described as an attempted arrest.
Muyiwa Adekeye, El-Rufai’s Media Adviser, said security agents approached the former governor shortly after he arrived and asked him to accompany them.
According to Adekeye, El-Rufai refused to comply without a formal invitation or official warrant.
“Security agents today attempted to arrest Malam Nasir El-Rufai as he arrived on a flight from Cairo,” Adekeye said in a statement. “Malam El-Rufai declined to follow them without a formal invitation. They, however, seized his passport from an aide.”
Adekeye did not disclose which security agency was involved, nor the reason for the attempted arrest.
There was no immediate response from Nigerian security authorities at the time of reporting.
The incident has raised fresh concerns among supporters over alleged political intimidation, coming amid heightened tensions in Nigeria’s political landscape.
El-Rufai, a former minister and two-term governor of Kaduna State, remains an influential figure in national politics.
