The legal counsel to former Kaduna State governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai has issued an urgent demand for the immediate return of his international passport, which he said was “unlawfully snatched” by security operatives at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday afternoon.
In a statement, Ubong Esop Akpan of The Chambers of Ubong Akpan alleged that operatives from the Department of State Services (DSS) moved to arrest El-Rufai upon his arrival on Egypt Air flight MS 877 from Cairo — without a warrant, without producing an invitation letter, and without any colour of legal authority.
“When he calmly demanded to see the letter of invitation — a basic entitlement of any citizen facing state action — none could be produced. No document, no signed directive, no lawful process. There was only raw power, unclothed by law,” the statement read.
Akpan described the seizure of the passport as “nothing short of stealing — the unlawful taking of private property by agents of the state acting without colour of authority.”
The incident follows an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which was reportedly delivered to El-Rufai’s residence while he was abroad undergoing medical treatment.
His legal team said they had since December 2025 been in communication with the anti-graft agency, assuring compliance upon his return. A formal notification was sent yesterday explicitly stating that El-Rufai would voluntarily appear at the EFCC’s office by 10:00 a.m. on Monday, February 16, 2026.
Despite this, operatives were deployed to intercept him on arrival.
Akpan said ordinary Nigerians present at the airport intervened, surrounding the scene and insisting that no arrest could lawfully occur without proper process. Their intervention, he said, forced the operatives to retreat.
“Their voices, defiant and unbowed, were a testament to the citizenry’s unyielding commitment to the rule of law, even as state agents acted in flagrant disregard of it,” the lawyer added.
The statement cites multiple constitutional breaches, including Sections 35 (right to personal liberty), 41 (freedom of movement), and 44 (right to own property). It also asserts that El-Rufai had no intention of evading lawful inquiry.
“Let us make it publicly and abundantly clear: Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai will never take the cowardly route of running away from law enforcement. He will honour, without preconditions, all legitimate law enforcement summons,” Akpan said.
The legal team is now demanding:
· Immediate and unconditional cessation of all unlawful efforts to detain El-Rufai
· Immediate return of his seized international passport
· A formal apology for what it called an “egregious infringement on his dignity and rights”
Akpan said legal action would be pursued against all persons and agencies responsible, vowing to “seek redress through all available legal channels to protect the sanctity of the law.”
At the time of this report, neither the DSS nor the EFCC had issued an official response to the allegations.
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