Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has said he has not yet decided whether he will contest the presidency in 2027, amid speculation and recent controversy over an alleged attempt to detain him at Abuja International Airport.
In an interview on Friday, El-Rufai described the airport incident not as an isolated security matter but as part of what he called a sustained campaign of political persecution linked to his perceived political ambitions.
“I’ve not decided if I’m running for president or not,” he said. “But clearly, there are people who think I am, and they are acting accordingly.”
The comments follow a reported attempt by security operatives to detain him after his return from Cairo. El-Rufai alleged that around 50 operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) had been deployed to the airport to apprehend him without presenting a formal invitation.
“Well, I came out of the plane, and a young man dressed in a suit approached me and said he was from the DSS and wanted to meet me in their office,” El-Rufai recalled. “I asked to see the letter of invitation. He said his superiors had it and would escort me. I said, I need the letter. As I moved, more operatives appeared, about 50 in total, apparently instructed to detain me.”
He said he refused to comply without a formal letter. “I said, I’m not going anywhere until you show me an invitation. Even the president cannot tell me I have to do anything. It’s a free country. It’s a democratic country. I do not have to do anything I do not wish to do.”
El-Rufai also alleged that after his passport was stamped, officers attempted to seize it from him and his aides, resulting in a brief altercation. “If I had my passport with me, I would not be talking about this,” he said.
He warned that such actions risk undermining public confidence in security agencies. “Once people begin to lose trust in the neutrality of such institutions, we are on the way to anarchy,” he said.
El-Rufai clarified that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was not responsible for the airport incident. Instead, he alleged that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had procured the DSS to detain him. “This is a modus operandi that has increasingly become a personal tool of Nuhu Ribadu,” he said. “He made the call and ordered that I must be in custody yesterday.”
El-Rufai said the ICPC later delivered a formal invitation to his residence, which he accepted. “Now that you’ve written an invitation, we’ll honour it,” he said.
He described the investigations against him as a continuation of political persecution. “I have 16 years’ record of public service and challenge anyone who has worked with me to show if I’ve ever taken or demanded a bribe or acted unlawfully,” he said. He referenced his book, The Accidental Public Servant, detailing previous investigations under earlier administrations.
El-Rufai noted that since June 2023, authorities in Kaduna had investigated him and his associates without substantiating allegations. “They have arrested my former Chief of Staff, my Commissioner of Finance, my Commissioner of Local Government. Most charges are frivolous, and I am confident they will fail,” he said.
He declined to confirm any presidential ambition, adding, “The real issue is the sustained political harassment, not the airport incident itself. People are acting as if I have already made a decision, and that has created this environment.”
Observers have linked the controversy to El-Rufai’s prominent role in national politics and speculation about potential candidates for the 2027 elections. Analysts note that his comments reflect ongoing tensions between former state executives and federal security agencies.
El-Rufai’s statement emphasises both his uncertainty about a presidential run and his insistence on legal and democratic norms. He maintained that he would respond to formal invitations from relevant authorities in accordance with the law.
The former governor’s remarks underscore the heightened political climate in Nigeria, where allegations of selective enforcement and institutional bias have increasingly drawn public scrutiny. He urged that investigations be conducted transparently to maintain public confidence in security institutions.