Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai has been taken into custody by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) after spending two nights at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.
Sources told TheCable that el-Rufai was picked up Wednesday night after spending two days undergoing questioning at the anti-graft agency’s Abuja office.
Insiders revealed that during his grilling by EFCC investigators, several attempts were made to obtain a written statement from the former governor — but he repeatedly declined.
El-Rufai had honoured an EFCC invitation on Monday over alleged financial improprieties during his tenure as Kaduna governor between 2015 and 2023.
The storm around him has been gathering for months. In 2024, the Kaduna State House of Assembly indicted him over the alleged diversion of N423 billion and money laundering, urging anti-corruption agencies to investigate. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has also invited him.
Just days earlier, security operatives had attempted to arrest el-Rufai at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, when he arrived from Cairo, Egypt.
He later alleged that the ICPC, acting on the instruction of National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, directed DSS officials to arrest him.
In a Saturday interview on Prime Time, an Arise Television programme, el-Rufai sensationally claimed “someone wiretapped” Ribadu’s phone, enabling him to listen to the NSA allegedly ordering his arrest.
On Monday, the DSS filed a three-count charge against him for allegedly intercepting the NSA’s telephone conversation.
But security sources insist the DSS action is not linked to the EFCC probe.
“He has a case to answer regarding an escalating security matter,” a senior security official told TheCable. “This is not related to the EFCC investigation. It is a separate matter entirely.”
With anti-graft questions swirling and fresh security charges on the table, Abuja’s political scene is now on edge as the el-Rufai saga deepens.
