Atiku Visits El-Rufai After Airport Arrest Saga

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar paid what he called a solidarity visit to former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai on Thursday night, barely hours after the former governor condemned an attempt by security agents to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, following his arrival from Cairo, Egypt.

In a post on X on Friday morning, Atiku said “Last night, I paid a solidarity visit to the former Governor of Kaduna State and stalwart of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, following the failed attempt by the partisan ICPC to arrest him at the airport upon his arrival in the country.”

Atiku and El-Rufai are members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), an opposition party which seeks to unseat the ruling All Progressives Congress in the 2027 presidential election.

El-Rufai, on Thursday in a post on X condemned what he called an illegal attempt by security operatives to arrest him at the airport.
El-Rufai, while clarifying his encounter with security agents as seen in a video which went viral on social media, accused authorities of executive overreach and disregard for the rule of law.

“My lawyers have issued a statement that condemns the illegal attempt to arrest me today at the Abuja airport upon my arrival from Cairo,” El-Rufai wrote.
“Our country must outgrow executive overreach and deliberate disregard for the rule of law,” his post on X stated.

Earlier, El-Rufai’s media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, had disclosed that security agents attempted to arrest the former governor on Thursday upon his arrival from Cairo, Egypt.

Adekeye, writing on his verified X handle shortly after the incident, stated: “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.”

He further alleged that operatives seized the former governor’s passport during the encounter.
However, the Airport arrest saga came barely a day after El-Rufai hinted at his possible arrest by the Nigerian Federal Government.
E-Rufai had told BBC Hausa Service that recent developments indicated he might be the next target of what he perceived was political intimidation against opposition figures.
He said four people he worked with in Kaduna have been arrested and that it was only a matter of time before he got the same fate.

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