ICPC DETAINS EL-RUFAI OVER ONGOING INVESTIGATION

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arrested Nasir el-Rufai, who was the former governor of Kaduna.

J. Okor Odey, the head of media and public communications at ICPC, said el-Rufai was taken into custody on Wednesday night as part of ongoing investigations.

Okor made a short statement and did not say what the investigations were about that led to the former governor being arrested. “The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) writes to state that Malam Nasiru El-Rufai the former Governor of Kaduna state is in our custody as at close of work today Wednesday the 18th day of February, 2026. Malam Nasiru El-Rufai is in the custody of the Commission in connection with investigations,” the statement reads.

On Monday, the former governor went to the EFCC headquarters after being invited to explain some financial issues that happened while he was governor of Kaduna state from 2015 to 2023.

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In 2024, the Kaduna assembly accused him of misusing N423 billion in public money and laundering it, and they asked anti–corruption agencies to look into the matter.

The former Kaduna governor has also been invited by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Last Thursday, security officers tried to arrest el-Rufai at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja when he arrived from Cairo, which is the capital of Egypt.

El-Rufai later claimed that the ICPC, following instructions from Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser, asked DSS officials to arrest him when he arrived.

On Saturday, during an interview on Prime Time, a show on Arise Television, El-Rufai said someone tapped Ribadu’s phone, letting him hear the NSA telling security officers to arrest him.

On Monday, the DSS filed three charges against El-Rufai for allegedly listening in on the NSA’s phone call.

TheCable previously reported that the former governor was arrested by the DSS after staying two nights at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

It is not clear yet whether the DSS transferred him to the ICPC for ongoing investigations.