Five security operatives have been arrested in connection with alleged bribery and the unauthorised facilitation of access to restricted areas at the Nasir El‑Rufai Egypt return incident at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on 12 February 2026, the Department of State Services (SSS) has confirmed after a joint investigation.
According to an official security statement, the detained officers – drawn from the Nigeria Police Force, SSS, Nigeria Immigration Service and Aviation Security (AVSEC) – allegedly accepted bribes to enable unauthorised entry into security-sensitive locations at the airport, thereby compromising operational protocols.
Those named include Assistant Superintendent of Police Ayuba Yakubu, a DSS operative Mutala Inuwa, Assistant Superintendent of Immigration Najeeb Murtala and AVSEC officers Musa Adamu and Salihu Victor. Each is reported to have confessed to receiving bribes linked to the incident.
The statement emphasised that their conduct obstructed lawful security operations in what was described as an “unprecedented manner,” and the detainees have been transferred to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for prosecution. Meanwhile, other officers who did not take bribes but were found to have misused their uniforms to facilitate unauthorised access are to face administrative sanctions.
This development forms part of broader investigations linked to El-Rufai’s return, during which security operatives reportedly attempted to detain him without public court documentation at the airport. That broader incident has also drawn legal objections from El-Rufai’s lawyers, who characterised the attempted arrest and seizure of his passport as unlawful and in breach of constitutional rights.
