‘Peter Obi Arrested My Father’ – Bashir El-Rufai Replies Aisha Yesufu

Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, has reacted the ongoing conversation about his father’s 2013 arrest in Anambra State.

Naija News reports that he spoke shortly after political activist Aisha Yesufu set the record straight during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, July 21, 2025.

Yesufu explained that El-Rufai was detained in 2013 by the Department of State Services (DSS) and not under any directive from Peter Obi, who was the sitting governor of Anambra State at the time.

The debate was reignited after Edo State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Paul Ohonbamu, referenced the old arrest to support Governor Monday Okpebholo’s warning for Obi to steer clear of Edo State affairs.

Yesufu, however, insisted that the former Kaduna governor’s detention was solely the action of security operatives and had nothing to do with Obi.

According to her, there was no order from Obi regarding the arrest, and dragging him into the matter now was misleading.

Reacting, Bashir alleged that Peter Obi indeed arrested his father but has now been forgiven.

He wrote while quoting the post, “He did & he is forgiven.”

The controversy stems from an incident in November 2013, during the Anambra governorship election.

El-Rufai, who was then a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was in the state to observe the election but was detained by DSS officials at his hotel in Awka, the state capital.

At the time, the DSS explained its actions were based on prevailing “security concerns” in the area. El-Rufai, however, claimed he was unfairly targeted.