El-Rufai Detained Over Alleged Financial Misconduct Investigations

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has taken Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna State, into custody.

According to J. Okor Odey, ICPC’s head of media and public communications, El-Rufai was taken into custody on Wednesday, 18 February 2026, in connection with ongoing investigations. The ICPC did not disclose the specific nature of the investigations.

Earlier reports indicated that El-Rufai had spent two nights at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) headquarters and was previously taken into custody by the Department of State Services (DSS). It remains unclear if the DSS formally handed him over to the ICPC.

El-Rufai had presented himself at the EFCC headquarters on Monday following an invitation regarding alleged financial improprieties during his tenure as governor between 2015 and 2023. In 2024, the Kaduna State House of Assembly indicted him over an alleged diversion of N423 billion in public funds and money laundering, calling for investigations by anti-graft agencies.

Last Thursday, security operatives attempted to arrest El-Rufai at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja upon his return from Cairo, Egypt. He later alleged that the ICPC, acting on instructions from Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA), directed the DSS to effect his arrest.

In a Saturday interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time, El-Rufai claimed that Ribadu’s phone had been wiretapped, enabling him to listen to the NSA instructing security operatives to arrest him. Subsequently, on Monday, the DSS filed a three-count charge against El-Rufai for allegedly intercepting the NSA’s telephone conversation.

The investigation by ICPC is ongoing.

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