ABUJA — Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai walked free from EFCC custody around 8 p.m. Wednesday, only to face immediate rearrest by armed agents waiting outside the agency’s headquarters. The dramatic sequence capped three days of detention on corruption allegations, witnesses told reporters.

El-Rufai, 65, had been held since Monday morning when EFCC agents picked him up for questioning over suspected graft during his time as governor from 2015 to 2023. Officials granted him bail that evening, but sources close to the scene described how a group of uniformed operatives swooped in without warning. They bundled him into vehicles and sped off, leaving his entourage stunned.

Confusion swirled over the agency’s identity. One source identified the group as agents from the State Security Service, Nigeria’s domestic intelligence outfit. Others pointed to the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, or ICPC, which has separately summoned El-Rufai in recent weeks for alleged corruption. EFCC and SSS spokespeople declined immediate comment late Wednesday.

The rearrest thrust El-Rufai back into a whirlwind of legal battles. Just that morning, SSS prosecutors had filed cybercrime charges against him in Federal High Court Abuja, case number FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026. The accusations stem from comments El-Rufai made Friday on Arise TV’s Prime Time program. He claimed to have overheard National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu directing agents to detain him, alleging a phone tap captured the conversation.

Prosecutors charged El-Rufai with unlawfully intercepting Ribadu’s communications, failing to report others involved, and endangering national security. The alleged violations cite the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) (Amendment) Act 2024 and the Nigerian Communications Act 2003. No court date is set, and El-Rufai has not issued a public statement on the filing.

Tensions boiled over last Thursday at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. El-Rufai had just landed from Cairo, Egypt, when security personnel moved in for an arrest attempt. Video footage showed him arguing heatedly with officers amid chants from supporters. Agents briefly seized his international passport before letting him go.

El-Rufai’s lawyer, Ubong Akpan, slammed the airport incident as unconstitutional. In a statement Sunday, Akpan said EFCC had sent an invitation to El-Rufai’s home while he was abroad, and his client arranged to appear voluntarily at 10 a.m. Monday. Akpan demanded the passport’s return, calling its seizure a violation of his client’s rights to movement and dignity. He vowed court action against any further overreach.

Scrutiny of El-Rufai has intensified since he left office. The Kaduna State House of Assembly in 2024 called for probes into his administration, citing claims he diverted 423 billion naira ($260 million) in public funds. ICPC summoned him earlier this month. Once a key ally of President Bola Tinubu—he backed the All Progressives Congress candidate’s 2023 victory—El-Rufai soured on the administration after a failed ministerial bid.

Now aligned with the opposition African Democratic Congress, El-Rufai has vowed to block Tinubu’s 2027 reelection. Ribadu, the NSA and a Tinubu loyalist, clashed publicly with him over the airport episode. SSS pursued the cybercrime case days after El-Rufai’s TV remarks accusing Ribadu of orchestrating the detention order.

El-Rufai’s political pivot has drawn sharp backlash. Supporters see the arrests as retribution; critics call them accountability long overdue. As of Thursday morning, his whereabouts remained unclear, with lawyers scrambling for access.