The development follows an earlier incident at the airport, where security operatives reportedly attempted to arrest the former governor as he arrived from Cairo.
His former spokesman, Muyiwa Adekeye, had alleged at the time that agents seized El-Rufai’s international passport after he declined to accompany them without a formal invitation.
Three days later, El-Rufai honoured an invitation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and was subsequently detained.
After being questioned for three days, the anti-graft agency granted him bail. However, he was immediately rearrested by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
In a fresh update, the DSS— which had earlier filed criminal charges against the former governor but was unable to arraign him on February 25, 2026, due to his custody under the ICPC— claimed investigations revealed that bribes were paid to compromise airport security procedures.
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According to the secret police, a joint probe involving the DSS, the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Customs Service and the Federal Ministry of Aviation led to the detention of five officers.
Those detained include Ayuba Yakubu (ASP, Police), Murtala Inuwa (DSS), Najeeb Murtala (ASI, NIS), Musa Adamu (Aviation Security), and Salihu Victor (Aviation Security).
The DSS alleged that the officers confessed to receiving bribes to facilitate unauthorised access to restricted airport areas and to obstruct lawful security operations.
They have since been handed over to the ICPC for prosecution.
The agency clarified that other officers from the Immigration and Customs services who did not receive bribes but were found to have abused their positions would face administrative sanctions.
El-Rufai has consistently denied any wrongdoing, describing the actions against him as a politically motivated witch-hunt.
Authorities say investigations are ongoing as the case continues to unfold.