The simmering political vendetta in Nigeria’s capital has exploded into open confrontation. [...](asc_slot://start-slot-3)In a high-stakes standoff at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has physically resisted an attempt by security operatives to arrest him, turning a routine arrival into a test of the rule of law.

The incident occurred moments after El-Rufai disembarked from a flight from Cairo, Egypt. According to his media aide, Muyiwa Adekeye, a team of security agents—believed to be from the Department of State Services (DSS)—swarmed the former governor on the tarmac. However, El-Rufai, a veteran of Nigeria’s bruising political trenches, refused to be cowed. Demanding a formal warrant or invitation, he stood his ground, creating a spectacle that left the operatives with no option but to resort to the petty seizure of his international passport before retreating.

The Anatomy of Intimidation

This botched arrest is not an isolated event; it is the climax of a months-long campaign of encirclement. El-Rufai has previously sounded the alarm, claiming that the Tinubu administration is systematically targeting his inner circle to muzzle his influence. "They snatched his passport from an aide," Adekeye confirmed, a detail that exposes the desperation of the operatives. By seizing his travel documents, the state has effectively placed the former governor under open-air house arrest, stripping him of his freedom of movement without the inconvenience of a court order.

The standoff at the airport reveals the fragile nature of the current political alliances in Abuja. El-Rufai, once a kingmaker who helped deliver the Northern vote, is now treated as a pariah. His refusal to "follow them quietly" breaks the unwritten rule of Nigerian VIP arrests, where the target usually submits to save face. By creating a scene, El-Rufai has forced the security agencies into the sunlight, challenging them to produce a legal basis for their harassment.

• The Cairo Connection: Questions abound regarding the timing of the move. Why arrest him upon return from Egypt? Intelligence sources suggest the state feared El-Rufai was mobilizing external support or resources, though no evidence has been tabled.
• The Aide’s Account: Muyiwa Adekeye’s swift release of the incident details on social media platform X preempted the official state narrative, allowing El-Rufai to frame the encounter as political persecution before the DSS could issue a press release.

A Gathering Storm in the North

The ramifications of this confrontation will ripple far beyond the tarmac of Abuja. El-Rufai remains a potent political force in the North West, and his public humiliation by federal agents risks alienating a critical voting bloc. The seizure of the passport is a clear provocation, a signal that the gloves are off. It is a classic tactic of the Nigerian security apparatus: if you cannot jail the man, you ground him.

As El-Rufai retreats to his Abuja residence, sans passport but with his liberty temporarily intact, the capital holds its breath. This was not just an attempted arrest; it was a declaration of war. The former governor has drawn a line, refusing to be intimidated by the "orders from above." The question now is whether the state will escalate with a raid, or if this airport standoff was merely a warning shot across the bow of one of Nigeria’s most unpredictable politicians.