By Our Reporter
Fresh details indicate that former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai’s allegation that National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu imported a deadly poison to target opposition figures may have been a calculated preemptive move amid mounting legal and political pressure against him.
Security sources told KTH Daily that El-Rufai had received an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before returning to Nigeria and anticipated arrest and detention. He was subsequently detained after honouring the invitation, granted administrative bail, and then transferred into the custody of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), which also searched his residence as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged financial transactions during his tenure as governor between 2015 and 2023.
According to a senior security official, El-Rufai is convinced that Ribadu, not President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is the principal force behind his legal troubles. In different interviews, the former governor has stated pointedly that it is Ribadu who is after him.
The source added that El-Rufai views Ribadu as a potential rival in the North’s 2031 presidential calculations, when power is expected to rotate back to the region.
Within that context, El-Rufai’s January 30, 2026 letter accusing the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) of procuring about 10 kilograms of thallium sulphate from Poland is being interpreted in some quarters as a warning shot. The letter, titled “Request for Clarification on the Procurement of Thallium Sulphate,” sought detailed explanations about the purpose, quantity, regulatory approvals, storage, and coordination with agencies such as NAFDAC and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control. El-Rufai described the substance as highly toxic and tightly controlled, raising public safety concerns and stating that opposition leaders were aware of the alleged development.
Security sources, however, described the allegation as a preemptive strike: A move designed to put Ribadu “on notice” and signal that if any harm befalls El-Rufai during his current legal battles, the NSA should be held responsible. Notably, no major opposition figure publicly corroborated the poison claim despite El-Rufai’s assertion that opposition leaders had knowledge of it.
ONSA denied the allegation in a February 13, 2026 response signed on behalf of the NSA, stating that it neither procured nor initiated any process to acquire thallium sulphate and had no intention of doing so. The office referred the matter to the Department of State Services for investigation and asked El-Rufai to provide evidence to substantiate his claim.
Compounding the controversy are El-Rufai’s own admissions during a televised interview that he accessed an intercepted telephone conversation involving Ribadu. He acknowledged the act was illegal but claimed such surveillance practices occur within government circles. That disclosure added a security dimension to the unfolding dispute.
Former Special Adviser on Political Matters to Vice President Kashim Shettima, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, addressed the escalating confrontation during an appearance on Channels Television. Baba-Ahmed said El-Rufai appeared unwilling to exercise restraint at a time requiring caution and recalibration.
“Unfortunately, Mallam Nasiru, by character, is a very difficult person to advise,” Baba-Ahmed said.
He argued that El-Rufai should prioritise responding to corruption allegations linked to his tenure in Kaduna State rather than broadening the confrontation. According to Baba-Ahmed, the former governor is now facing multiple issues: allegations of mismanaging Kaduna State funds, questions over his admission of involvement in phone surveillance concerning Ribadu, and the poison allegation directed at the NSA.
“They are alleging that while he was in office, he embezzled money and stole money,” Baba-Ahmed said, referring to the investigations.
“When you find yourself in a ditch, stop digging. The first rule of being in a ditch is to stop digging,” he added, warning that recent actions had “escalated and reinforced the hostility against him.”
Baba-Ahmed further stated that El-Rufai’s value to the African Democratic Congress lies in his political effectiveness, not in prolonged legal and security controversies. “You are more useful to the ADC as a free man, not encumbered by a lot of allegations and fights,” he said, urging him to focus on clearing his name rather than multiplying points of conflict.
Observers note that taken together, the poison allegation, the corruption probes, the surveillance admission, and the public exchanges are building up to a high-stakes clash that extends beyond legal accountability into political positioning ahead of 2027 and potentially 2031.
“Even though ONSA has categorically denied importing any toxic substance, El-Rufai’s accusation has injected a volatile security narrative into an already overheated political landscape,”
said our source, who expressed concern over how the build up to the next election was already shaping out.