Key Points
- DSS arrests five officers who confessed to taking bribes to obstruct El-Rufai’s detention at Abuja airport.
- ICPC takes custody of the five officers for criminal prosecution following a joint agency investigation.
- El-Rufai’s N1 billion rights suit against the ICPC stalls after respondents fail to appear in court.
Nigeria’s Department of State Services arrested five security officers Tuesday. They face prosecution for taking bribes during a failed attempt to detain former Kaduna Gov. Nasir El-Rufai at Abuja’s airport last month.
The officers took money to allow unauthorized access into restricted airport areas. They also worked to block security operations when El-Rufai returned from Egypt on Feb. 12, a joint investigation found.
“They have all confessed to receiving bribes to facilitate unauthorised entry into restricted areas, to obstruct lawful security operations in an unprecedented manner,” the investigation report stated.
Who was arrested
Five officers from different agencies face charges. They are Ayuba Yakubu, a police assistant superintendent; DSS operative Murtala Inuwa; immigration officer Najeeb Murtala; and aviation security officers Musa Adamu and Salihu Victor.
The DSS handed all five to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission for prosecution. Other officers from immigration and customs did not take bribes. However, they used their uniforms to grant unauthorized access. They will face internal discipline.
What happened at the airport
El-Rufai refused to leave the airport with operatives on Feb. 12. He said he had received no formal invitation. Security agents then took his international passport from an aide, his spokesperson Muyiwa Adekeye said.
Three days later, El-Rufai honored an EFCC invitation. The ICPC has held him since his EFCC release.
Rights suit adjourned
El-Rufai’s N1 billion rights suit against the ICPC stalled Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja. None of the respondents sent legal representation.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned the case to March 11. El-Rufai’s lawyer, Ubong Akpan, told the court the respondents had not yet received court papers.
Lead counsel Oluwole Iyamu filed the suit on Feb. 20. It challenges a search warrant used to raid El-Rufai’s Mambilla Street home in Asokoro on Feb. 19. El-Rufai wants the court to declare the warrant invalid. He also wants all seized items returned immediately.
His damages claim breaks down as follows. He seeks N300 million for psychological trauma and emotional distress. He wants N400 million to deter future law enforcement misconduct. He also claims N300 million for what he calls malicious conduct by the respondents. Legal costs add another N100 million to the total.
The ICPC says its operatives acted lawfully. It has asked the court to dismiss the suit.
Wife mocks wiretap claims
El-Rufai’s wife, Hadiza, ridiculed ICPC claims on X Tuesday. The commission said it seized wiretapping equipment from their Abuja home. She disagreed sharply.
“You forgot to mention that you also took away my bank tokens. I swear to God, they are not wiretapping equipment,” she wrote.
Her son Mohammed El-Rufai represents Kaduna North in the House of Representatives. He called the wiretapping claims false and politically motivated. No sophisticated surveillance equipment was found during the search, he said.
El-Rufai previously claimed he overheard a conversation involving National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu. Ribadu allegedly ordered his arrest in that exchange. El-Rufai admitted such a phone tap would be illegal.
