Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described the attempted arrest of Nasir El-Rufai as a national embarrassment.
There was drama at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Thursday, as security operatives attempted to arrest El-Rufai, former Governor of Kaduna State.
Abubakar, who paid a solidarity visit to El-Rufai on Thursday night, condemned the attempted arrest, adding that it was against the rule of law.
“I hope in spite of what has happened at the airport, you will have, or you will join members of your family to have a very peaceful reunion. But let me also use this opportunity to strongly condemn what has happened today at the airport. There is absolutely no reason for authorities to try and embarrass you at the airport; not only you, embarrass all Nigerians because this is a democratic society; it is a society based on the rule of law,” the former Vice-President said.
“There was absolutely no need for you to be, or try to be, kidnapped, I will say, from the airport. They could allow you to return to your house and then invite you normally. You have held very very high positions in government in this country. You were a minister and you were a governor and you successfully performed your functions.
“There was no need for them to try to embarrass you. By embarrassing you, they are entirely embarrassing the entire political class, and we condemn it in totality. And we will stand by you, and we will protect your interests and the interests of every law-abiding Nigerian.
“Just as they undermined and sabotage the PDP, there are also efforts and plans to undermine the ADC by using the judiciary again. We must be alert, and we must stand up against that plan to undermine the opposition.
“This is a very credible information, so we should all be at alert and make sure that the judiciary is not used to undermine the ADC just as it has been used to undermine/destroy the PDP. We must all unite and stand up, you know, to all these anti-democratic forces. I thank you very much indeed.”
In his response, El-Rufai thanked Abubakar for the support, and described the situation as “most unfortunate.”
“Your Excellency, you have always shown concern for my personal welfare and that of our friends and associates, and this visit further reinforces that concern that you have consistently shown, for which I will be eternally grateful,” the former Governor said.
“Your Excellency, what happened at the airport today, as you correctly observed, was most unfortunate, totally unnecessary and probably criminal as well, because agencies have rules of engagement, and all I asked for, ‘give me a letter of invitation and I will visit your office.’ But it turned out that it was the ICPC that procured the DSS to abduct me and hand me over to them.
“The ICPC has never contacted me or sought to invite me up to the point we were at the airport. The EFCC had written, inviting me, and I was out of the country. My lawyer wrote to them to say that I will be returning and I will be there on Monday at 10 am. But the ICPC, I never heard anything from them.
“But we understand that it was the ICPC. Not the EFCC that was responsible for what happened. And the ICPC chairman was acting on the direct orders of Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser. We have reduced security agencies to be arms of a political party and a government that knows it is unelectable, and wants to remain in power at all costs. And Your Excellency, I assure you that what has happened today, has further reinforced my belief that we must work hard, we must not sleep, between now and March 2027, until we remove these tyrants.”
See video of the visit below, as shared by Atiku Abubakar on X:
