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Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has alleged that the government is paying bandits to dissuade them from killing Nigerians.
El-Rufai, who spoke on Sunday on Channels Television’s Politics Today, argued that bandits should be killed and not engaged in negotiation.
The former governor, who served between 2015 and 2023, alleged that the policy of negotiating and compensating armed groups was a national directive championed by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
He said, “What I will not do is to pay bandits. They are paying bandits. They are empowering bandits. This is what this government has done. We have the evidence. They are paying bandits. They are empowering bandits.
“It’s a national policy driven by the Office of the National Security Adviser, and Kaduna is part of it. Many states are objecting to that. But that is the policy now.”
El-Rufai maintained that dialogue with terrorists is dangerous.
“My position has always been that the only repentant bandit is a dead one. Let’s kill them all. Let’s wipe them. Let’s bomb them until they are reduced to nothing. And then the 5% that still want to be rehabilitated can be rehabilitated,” he declared.
He argued that the so-called non-kinetic strategy only strengthens criminal groups.
“You do not negotiate from a position of weakness. You don’t empower your enemy. You don’t give him money to go on and buy more sophisticated weapons. That’s why the security problem has not gone away. It will not go away. As long as this policy continues,” he added.
The former governor also cited intelligence and media reports to back his claims.
“Just last week, SBM published a report that showed that the security situation in Kaduna and Zamfara has actually deteriorated under this government’s watch. A week earlier or two weeks earlier, Sahara Reporters published another credible report that actually, insecurity has been increasing. What the government has been doing both at the national and state levels is buying the media from reporting it,” he said.
El-Rufai, who described himself as one of the founding fathers of the All Progressives Congress, defended his record in Kaduna, noting that his administration created a Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs and worked closely with security chiefs.
He insisted, however, that unlike the current government, he never paid off criminal groups.
The former governor, who has faced criticism over his political affiliations and controversies in Kaduna, said he remains unapologetic about his stance.
“Even if it is my son or my father who is president or governor and he’s not doing the right thing, I lose the right to disagree or criticise? Is that negative? Is that what Nigeria is?” he asked.
He reaffirmed his stance that the current government has failed Nigerians on all fronts, including security, economy, and governance.
But the Federal Government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), has denied claims by Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, former governor of Kaduna, that it offers incentives to bandits.
In a statement on Monday, Zakari Mijinyawa, spokesperson for the ONSA, described the claim as false.
“At no time has the ONSA, or any arm of government under this administration, engaged in ransom payments or inducements to criminals,” he said.
Mijinyawa said the government has consistently warned Nigerians against paying ransom to kidnappers.
He added that the administration has adopted a dual strategy involving military operations and community engagements to tackle banditry.
According to him, the approach has led to improved security in areas such as Igabi, Birnin Gwari, and Giwa in Kaduna state.
The ONSA said notorious bandits, including Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari, and Boka, have been eliminated.
Mijinyawa added that leaders of Ansaru, a terrorist group that once had bases in Kaduna, were recently apprehended.
He added: “These successes came at a cost, some of our brave officers paid the supreme price.
“For a former governor to deny these sacrifices on national television is both unfair and deeply insulting to the memories of our security personnel.”
The ONSA urged El-Rufai and other political figures to desist from dragging security institutions into partisan disputes.
“The fight against banditry is a collective struggle, not a platform for political point-scoring,” Mijinyawa said.
