The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) dismissed on Monday allegations by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai that the Federal Government engages in ransom payments or inducements to bandits.
El-Rufai had alleged that the current administration prefers to pacify criminals rather than eliminate them, insisting that authorities provide payments and supplies to dissuade bandits from killing Nigerians. He declared:
“What I will not do is pay bandits, give them a monthly allowance or send food to them. Non-kinetic is nonsense. We are empowering bandits. That’s what is going on.
“It’s a national policy…many states are objecting to it. But that is the policy now.
“My position has always been that the only repentant bandit is a dead one. Let’s wipe them out, bomb them, and reduce them to nothing. And then the five per cent that still want to be rehabilitated can be rehabilitated.”
ONSA, through a statement signed by its Director of Legal Services, Zakari Mijinyawa, described El-Rufai’s claims as false and inconsistent with facts on the ground.
The office stressed that neither it nor any agency of government has ever paid ransom or inducements under the present administration. It also noted that the government has consistently advised Nigerians against paying ransom.
According to ONSA, the administration adopted a two-pronged approach: direct military operations against criminal groups and community engagements designed to address underlying grievances.
It said: “From inception, this government adopted a dual strategy: decisive kinetic operations alongside community engagements aimed at addressing local grievances.
“The result is evident in areas such as Igabi, Birnin Gwari, Giwa, and other parts of Kaduna that once suffered untold terror in Kaduna state but are now experiencing relative peace.”
The security office highlighted that joint operations by the military and other security agencies have killed or captured several notorious warlords.
Among those eliminated in Kaduna were Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari, and Boka. Leaders of the Ansaru sect, who once operated from strongholds in the state, were also apprehended.
ONSA pointed out that these gains came at a heavy cost, as several security personnel lost their lives during operations.
It described El-Rufai’s remarks as dismissive of those sacrifices, stating, “For a former governor of a state in the person of El-Rufai to deny these sacrifices on national television is both unfair and deeply insulting to the memories of our security personnel.”
The security office cautioned political leaders against using national security as a partisan tool. It emphasised that the fight against banditry remains a collective struggle and should not be reduced to political point-scoring.
