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The detained former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has spent his second night in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.
Mr El -Rufai has been detained since Monday when he honoured the agency’s invitation for questioning over corruption allegations.
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The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the former governor was being grilled over alleged fraud during his tenure as governor from 2015 to 2023.
A source from the EFCC told NAN on Tuesday night that Mr El-Rufai would spend the night with the commission’s interrogators.
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”As I am talking to you now the former governor is still with our interrogators and he will be spending the night with them,” the source said Tuesday evening.
According to the source, the agency would be diligent in its investigation over the allegations levelled against the former governor.
”I can assure you that EFCC will do its job professionally by attending to all issues raised against him,” the source added.
The source, who could not confirm when he would be released or charged in court, said that depended on the progress of investigations.
Mr El-Rufai’s media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, had confirmed the detention in a statement on Monday, noting that the former governor honoured the commission’s invitation and held discussions with its officials.
According to him, Mr El-Rufai had a frank and fruitful interaction with EFCC investigators.
He added that his legal team described the officials’ conduct as professional.
Mr Adekeye noted that the former governor remained with the commission after the engagement on Monday.
Backstory
Mr El-Rufai’s detention is the latest phase in the fast-paced development that followed his recent return into the country from Cairo, Egypt.
It started last Thursday when security operatives attempted to arrest him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, shortly after he arrived from Cairo, Egypt.
Videos circulating online showed a brief confrontation between security personnel and the former governor’s entourage. His international passport was reportedly confiscated during the encounter.
Mr El-Rufai later alleged that the arrest attempt was carried out at the instruction of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, through the State Security Service (SSS).
Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Friday, he claimed that the NSA’s phone was allegedly tapped, allowing him to hear instructions to detain him.
Mr El-Rufai’s lawyer, Ubong Akpan, condemned the attempted arrest, describing it as arbitrary and in violation of constitutional rights.
According to him, the EFCC invitation was delivered to Mr El-Rufai’s residence while he was abroad, making immediate compliance impractical.
The lawyer said his client formally communicated with the EFCC to assure voluntary attendance upon his return, which was scheduled for 10 a.m. on Monday.
Mr Akpan further demanded the immediate return of Mr El-Rufai’s passport, describing its seizure as an infringement on his dignity, freedom of movement, and constitutional rights.
He warned that legal action would be taken against any unlawful detention efforts.
On Monday, the State Security Service (SSS) filed cybercrime charges against Mr El-Rufai at the Federal High Court in Abuja over alleged unlawful interception of the phone communications of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu.
The case was filed barely three days after Mr El-Rufai said during a live interview on Arise TV, focussing on the airport encounter, that the NSA’s phone conversation was intercepted, and that he heard the NSA directing security operatives to detain him.
Mr El-Rufai has faced mounting scrutiny since leaving office, including allegations of diverting N423 billion in public funds.
READ ALSO: EFCC detains El-Rufai after he honoured invitation for interrogation
The Kaduna State House of Assembly in 2024 demanded investigations into his administration.
He has also been summoned by the ICPC for questioning.
The former governor previously backed President Bola Tinubu’s emergence as APC presidential candidate in 2023. Mr Tinubu won the presidential election and was subsequently inaugurated to office in May 2023.
Both he and the president parted ways politically, with Mr El Rufai turning into Mr Tinubu’s fierce critic, after the president’s initial move to appoint the former Kaduna State governor a minister fell through.
Mr El-Rufai has since joined the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), vowing to work with with like-minded politicians to ensure Mr Tinubu is not re-elected in 2027.
(NAN)
