We did not plan to arrest him- DSS
By Odita Sunday
Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has alleged that operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) attempted to arrest him at an airport without presenting any official invitation or warrant.
El-Rufai, who spoke during an interview on Arise TV, recounted that about 50 DSS officers approached him with the intention of taking him into custody.
According to him, he demanded to see a formal invitation or legal documentation authorising the action before accompanying the officers to their office. He said the operatives were unable to produce any such document.
“I had asked them to show me any form of invitation before I join them at their office, but they couldn’t provide any,” he stated, adding that he declined to follow them on that basis.
The former governor further alleged that an aide who was in possession of his international passport was assaulted during the incident and that the officers seized the travel document.
El-Rufai also expressed appreciation to individuals at the airport whom he claimed insisted that he should not be taken away without proper documentation, describing their reaction as spontaneous.
He urged security institutions to uphold neutrality and due process in the discharge of their duties, warning that public confidence in such agencies could erode if actions are perceived as lacking fairness.
“As soon as people begin to lose confidence in the neutrality of security institutions, we are on our way to anarchy,” he cautioned.
Meanwhile, reacting to the allegations, a source in the DSS said the secret police did not plan to arrest him.
According to the source, “We didnt plan to arrest him. Just performed a watchlist of retrieving his passport so he can answer to anti graft agencies.”
