By Paul Joseph
Officials from the Department of State Services (DSS) have taken Nasir el-Rufai into custody following his two-night stay with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), according to sources who spoke to TheCable.
Multiple sources reported that el-Rufai was picked up from the EFCC headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday night by DSS agents.
Insiders revealed that during his questioning at the anti-corruption agency, investigators made several attempts to get a written statement from the former governor, but he consistently refused to provide one.
On Monday, el-Rufai had gone to the EFCC headquarters in response to an invitation regarding alleged financial misconduct during his time as governor of Kaduna state from 2015 to 2023.
In 2024, the Kaduna assembly accused el-Rufai of misappropriating N423 billion in public funds and money laundering, calling for an investigation by anti-corruption agencies.
The former governor has also received an invitation from the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Last Thursday, security personnel tried to arrest el-Rufai at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja upon his return from Cairo, Egypt.
El-Rufai later claimed that the ICPC, acting on the orders of Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser, instructed DSS officials to detain him upon his arrival.
During an interview on Saturday with Prime Time, a program on Arise Television, el-Rufai stated that “someone wiretapped” Ribadu’s phone, allowing him to overhear the NSA directing security forces to carry out his arrest.
On Monday, the DSS filed three charges against el-Rufai for allegedly intercepting the NSA’s phone conversation. Sources informed TheCable that the DSS’s actions are unrelated to the EFCC investigation and pertain to a “security matter.”
“He has a case to answer regarding a growing security issue,” a senior security official told TheCable. “This is not connected to the EFCC investigation; it is a completely separate matter.”
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