Five officers from the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Police, and Aviation Security (AVSEC) have been detained.
They were arrested for allegedly taking bribes to allow a mob access into restricted areas of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The mob prevented the attempted arrest of former Governor of Kaduna State Nasir El-Rufai on his arrival from Egypt on February 12, 2026.
The DSS announced this on Tuesday in Abuja.
The officers arrested for allegedly receiving bribes are: ASP Ayuba Yakubu (Police), Murtala Inuwa (DSS), ASI Najeeb Murtala (NIS), Musa Adamu and Salihu Victor (AVSEC).
“At the end of a joint investigation by the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Federal Ministry of Aviation, five officers have been detained,” the DSS said.
The DSS said, “They have all confessed to receiving bribes to facilitate unauthorized entry into Restricted Areas, to obstruct lawful security operations in an unprecedented manner.
“They have been handed over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for prosecution.”
However, the DSS said aside from the five officers, other officers who did not receive bribes but consented to the act were also arrested and would be sanctioned appropriately.
“Others from NIS and NCS whose involvement is not criminal; that is, did not receive bribes, but abuse their uniforms to facilitate unauthorized access, will face administrative action,” the secret police said.
The DSS, which filed criminal charges against el-Rufai but could not arraign him on February 25, 2026, because he was in ICPC custody.
The former governor is facing N432 billion allegations and other fraud charges from the ICPC.
