Former media aide to the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, Lauretta Onochie, has accused the erstwhile governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, of looting the treasury of Kaduna State when he was governor.

She was reacting to El-Rufai’s ongoing troubles with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

Speaking via her 𝕏 account, Onochie stated that the African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain was guilty of three sins.

She said El-Rufai’s alleged sins include bribing security officials to stop his arrest at the Abuja International Airport.

She also cited the phone-tapping equipment found in the residence of the former governor as another of his alleged sins.

She wrote: “MALLAM @El-rufai’s latest sin

“Officers have been arrested for bribery. They say El-Rufai bribed officers to stop his arrest at the airport on his way from Egypt.

“There’s the phone-tapping equipment ‘found’ at his home.

“Then, the original sin of looting the Kaduna State Government treasury. The list keeps growing, Nigerians keep laughing. God bless Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, the Department of State Services (DSS) has arrested some security operatives implicated in the security breach at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, during the failed arrest of El-Rufai, upon his return to Nigeria from Egypt, on February 12.

 News recalls that the secret police failed in its bid to arrest El-Rufai, but his passport was eventually seized.

Confirming the development, the former governor’s spokesman, Muyiwa Adekeye, had announced the seizure of his principal’s passport after the botched arrest attempt.

He wrote on 𝕏, “Security agents today attempted to arrest Malam Nasir Nasir@elrufai as he arrived on a flight from Cairo. Malam El- Rufai declined to follow them without a formal Invitation. They, however, snatched his international passport from an aide.” 

El-Rufai later honored the invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and was grilled for three days before he was granted bail, but the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) later arrested him.

Giving an update on the situation, the DSS, in a statement on Tuesday, said the security operatives could not arrest El-Rufa at the airport because he allegedly bribed some security operatives upon his return from Egypt.

However, the DSS clarified that not all those arrested collected bribes, but that they consented to the act and would be appropriately sanctioned.

The statement read, “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:

i. Ayuba YAKUBU (ASP) – POLICE.

ii. Murtala Inuwa – DSS

iii. Najeeb MURTALA (ASI) – NIS

iv. Musa ADAMU – Aviation

Security ( AVSEC).

v. Salihu VICTOR – AVSEC.

“They have all confessed to receiving bribes to facilitate unauthorized entry into restricted areas and 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.

“Others from NIS and NCS whose involvement is not criminal; that is, did not receive a bribe but abused their uniforms to facilitate unauthorized access, will face administrative action.”