He is Lying, nobody Planned to Arrest him- Adeyanju
Last update: February 14, 2026
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Nigerian lawyer and activist Deji Adeyanju has dismissed claims that there was a plot to arrest former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai at the airport. CBI News notes that he insisted that the incident was exaggerated and staged for public attention.
Adeyanju spoke on Friday during an interview on ARISE News, following El-Rufai’s claim that security operatives attempted to unlawfully detain him at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
“I think Malam Nasir El-Rufai, just like everyone who agrees with me, is always extremely sensational and is a drama artist as well. He’s very good at this opposition thing. He knew what he was doing, and when he came in, he came very prepared for cameras.”
Adeyanju also rejected El-Rufai’s claim that security agents tried to detain him without lawful authority.
“I think that they wanted to target his passport, and the DSS actually got his passport. I think that was what they wanted to get. Nobody planned to arrest him. If there was a plan to arrest him, for sure they would have arrested him,” he said.
He explained that arrests and security actions are permitted under Nigerian law in certain circumstances.
“Even Malam Nasir El-Rufai, I believe he has read some of our extant laws. You can be arrested with probable cause. You can also be arrested with a warrant,” he said.
Offering what he described as a “free tutorial,” Adeyanju added that probable cause is a recognised legal basis for arrest.
