In a video posted on Twitter by Mukhtar Maigamo, el-Rufai can be seen heading into the bushes with his security detail playing catch-up, as he darted this way and that, nimble as ever, in his white traditional outfit.

Pulse has learnt that the governor and his convoy were commuting to Abuja from Kaduna when they ran into a gridlock.

“Motorists had parked their cars because the kidnappers were having a field day of some sort. Some drivers were even turning back their cars. El-Rufai and his convoy ran into the gridlock and asked what it was all about. Once he learnt what the matter was, el-Rufai alighted from his car and led the chase for the kidnappers”, one eyewitness shared with Pulse.

Maryam Abubakar shared on Twitter that stranded citizens cheered Governor el-Rufai on afterwards, as “he cleared the Kaduna-Abuja road of kidnappers on Wednesday, just after Akilubu village”.

No kidnapper was caught, however.

In a press statement, el-Rufai’s media aide, Samuel Aruwan, said the governor, who got to the Akilubu village around 3:40 p.m., sighted dozens of vehicles parked by citizens who were visibly frightened by kidnappers operating ahead of them.

“Security operatives in the governor’s convoy advanced and cleared the road of the criminals who fled into the forest.

“After clearing the road, Governor El-Rufai directed that travellers who had been wounded by the criminals be rushed to the nearest hospital.

“The governor also directed security agencies to intensify patrols and permanently clear the road of the bandits", Aruwan said.

The Kaduna-Abuja expressway is notorious for being a kidnappers’ den. Hundreds of motorists have been abducted while plying the route.

Bandits also frequently fleece travelers of their wares on the route, in spite of incessant security raids on the large swathe of Savannah vegetation encompassing the road.