Nigeria must outgrow executive overreach – El-Rufai on attempted arrest, seized passport

Former governor of Kaduna State Nasir El-Rufai has warned that Nigeria must learn to stop disregarding the rule of law.

Recall that security agents on Thursday attempted to arrest El-Rufai, upon his arrival at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja, from Cairo, Egypt.

The operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, reportedly seized the former governor’s international passport.

Reacting, El-Rufai’s counsel, Ubong Esop Akpan, who demanded immediate return of the passport, threatened legal action against those involved in the operation.

The counsel demanded the “immediate and unconditional cessation of all unlawful efforts to detain El-Rufai, the immediate return of his stolen passport, and a formal apology for this egregious infringement on his dignity and rights.”

Similarly, in a post on his X handle, El-Rufai described the attempted arrest as illegal, stating that the country must outgrow “deliberate disregard for the rule of law.

He wrote, “My lawyers have issued a statement that condemns the illegal attempt to arrest me today at the Abuja airport upon my arrival from Cairo.

“Our country must outgrow executive overreach and deliberate disregard for the rule of law.”