Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC, of acting as a “personal tool” for the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The allegation comes after El-Rufai’s media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, claimed that security agents tried to detain the former governor upon his return from Cairo. According to Adekeye, El-Rufai refused to cooperate with the operatives because they did not provide a formal invitation. He further alleged that the agents subsequently seized El-Rufai’s passport from one of his aides.
Reports indicate that El-Rufai is scheduled to appear before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, the 16th of February, 2026.
During an interview on ARISE NEWS on Friday, the 13th of February, 2026, El-Rufia maintained that the ICPC “increasingly has become a personal tool of Nuhu Ribadu,” alleging that the NSA “made the call and gave the order that I must be in custody yesterday.”
He accused Ribadu of instructing security personnel to detain him, claiming that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) were employed by the ICPC for the task. “The DSS were procured to abduct me by the ICPC… Subsequently, we found out that it was the ICPC that procured the DSS to abduct me and then hand me over to them,” El-Rufai stated.
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The former governor also said that his associates became aware of the alleged plot through intercepted communications. “He made the call because we listen to their calls. The government thinks that they are the only ones who listen to calls. But we also have our ways,” he explained, adding that such interception is “technically illegal.”
El-Rufai clarified that the EFCC was not involved in the purported detention attempt. “I want to say very clearly, it wasn’t the EFCC… It was the DSS,” he emphasized, noting that the EFCC had merely invited him for questioning through an official letter.
He concluded by saying that he intends to honour the EFCC invitation on Monday, the 16th of February before responding to a separate notice issued by the ICPC.