Five security operatives who reportedly attended to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on February 12, 2026, have been arrested over alleged professional misconduct.
The officers, drawn from the Nigeria Police Force, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Immigration Service and Aviation Security, were accused of accepting bribes to grant the former governor access to restricted security zones within the airport.
Tttheir actions were said to have disrupted standard security procedures in what the DSS described as an “unprecedented manner.”
A security source identified the officers as Ayuba Yakubu, an Assistant Superintendent of Police; Murtala Inuwa, a DSS operative; Najeeb Murtala, an Assistant Superintendent of Immigration; and Musa Adamu and Salihu Victor, both personnel of Aviation Security.
According to the source, all five admitted to collecting bribes to enable unauthorised entry into restricted areas at the airport on the day El-Rufai returned from abroad.
In an official statement issued on Tuesday, the agency said, “At the end of a joint investigation by the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Federal Ministry of Aviation, five officers have been detained.
They are Ayuba Yakubu, Murtala Inuwa, Najeeb Murtala, Musa Adamu and Salihu Victor.
“They have all confessed to receiving bribes to facilitate unauthorised 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.”
The statement added that additional officers from the NIS and NCS who were not found to have accepted bribes but allegedly misused their official positions to allow unauthorised access would be subjected to internal disciplinary measures.
