Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has alleged that there was a plan to detain him, claiming he became aware of the move after communications were intercepted indicating that the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, had ordered his abduction.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE NEWS, El-Rufai said, “NSA Nuhu Ribadu gave the order for me to be abducted. Someone tapped Ribadu’s phone and informed us of his plan to abduct me.”
He alleged that operatives of the Department of State Services were procured by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission to detain him.
El-Rufai clarified that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was not involved in the alleged operation. “I want to say very clearly, it wasn’t the EFCC; it was the DSS. But the DSS was procured to abduct me by the ICPC, which has never communicated with me directly,” he said.
According to him, the EFCC had earlier sent an invitation requesting his presence for questioning while he was outside the country on vacation. He explained that his lawyers responded by informing the commission of his absence and assured them he would indicate his return date.
“My lawyers replied that I’m not in the country; I’m on my annual vacation. Once I know the date of return, I will let you know,” El-Rufai said, adding that he is scheduled to meet the EFCC at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, February 16, 2026.
Further explaining the alleged involvement of the ICPC and DSS, El-Rufai stated, “Subsequently, we found out that it was the ICPC that procured the DSS to abduct me and then hand over to them.”
He went on to accuse Ribadu of using the ICPC as a personal instrument, saying, “This is a modus operandi of the ICPC that increasingly has become a personal tool of Ribadu. He made the call and made the order that I must be in custody yesterday.”
On the interception of the phone call, El-Rufai acknowledged its illegality but justified it by alleging that the government routinely listens to private communications without court orders. “The government does it all the time. They listen to our calls without a court order. But someone tapped his phone and told us that he gave the order,” he said.
El-Rufai also disclosed that the ICPC later delivered a formal invitation letter to his residence, which his legal team has acknowledged.
“We will honor the invitation, but on Monday we are going to the EFCC that had written before. After the EFCC, we’ll go to ICPC on Tuesday or Wednesday,” he added.
