Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, have paid a visit to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
Naija News understands that the duo paid a visit to El-Rufai at his Abuja residence late on Thursday night.
Amaechi visited the former governor’s residence to show solidarity, while also condemning the attempted arrest of El-Rufai by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
There was drama at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday, when security agents tried to take the former governor into custody without presenting a warrant.
The incident came hours after El-Rufai publicly predicted that he would soon be arrested.
El-Rufai’s media adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye, disclosed the attempted arrest in a series of posts and videos shared on social media shortly after the incident.
According to Adekeye, security operatives approached the former governor as he disembarked from a flight from Cairo, Egypt, and sought to take him into custody. El-Rufai reportedly declined to accompany them, insisting that he would not submit himself to arrest without a formal letter of invitation or warrant.
“Security agents today attempted to arrest Malam Nasir El-Rufai as he arrived on a flight from Cairo. Malam El-Rufai declined to follow them without a formal invitation,” Adekeye wrote in a post later retweeted by the former governor.
Video clips circulating online showed a tense scene at the airport, with supporters and other bystanders surrounding the former governor as operatives engaged him. The situation reportedly degenerated into chaos, with members of the public insisting that due process be followed before any arrest.
It was gathered that during the confrontation, operatives seized El-Rufai’s international passport before leaving the scene when he refused to accompany them. Adekeye confirmed that the passport was taken.
“They, however, snatched his passport from an aide,” he said.
As of press time, it remained unclear whether the Department of State Services (DSS) or the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) initiated the attempted arrest. Neither of the agencies had issued a statement.
Reacting to the incident in a statement by his media office in Abuja, Atiku condemned what he described as the “crude and unorthodox attempt” to arrest the former governor.
He said, “While I support the anti-corruption effort in the country (having been pivotal in setting up the commission), I am worried about the politicisation of arrests that disproportionately target opposition leaders, especially the ADC since it came into being”.
“The fanatical zeal the EFCC has been going after ADC coalition figures” is a deviation from its constitutional mandate.
He pointed out that the EFCC was not established to be a political tool of the president or the ruling party, adding “if we continue on this path, the EFCC will lose credibility and compromise its independence.”
Atiku recalled that the Uwais Panel on Electoral Reforms specifically recommended that the EFCC chairman should be answerable to the Chief Justice of Nigeria in order to protect its independence.
He, however, regretted that the implementation panel set up by the Umaru Musa Yar’adua administration failed to adopt the recommendation of the Uwais Panel on the independence of the EFCC.