296
By Oscar Okhifo
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has described as baseless the allegation by former Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, that the federal government pays or offers incentives to bandits.
In a statement issued on Monday by Zakari Mijinyawa, ONSA said El-Rufai’s claim, made during a television interview on Sunday, was false and contradicted verifiable facts on ground.
“At no time has the ONSA, or any arm of government under this administration, engaged in ransom payments or inducements to criminals,” the statement said, stressing that the federal government has consistently warned Nigerians against paying ransom.
The NSA’s office noted that since the inception of the present administration, a dual strategy of “decisive kinetic operations alongside community engagements” had been deployed, leading to significant improvement in security across several areas of Kaduna State once plagued by banditry.
The statement highlighted the military’s successes in neutralising or capturing notorious bandit leaders, including Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari and Boka, while also dismantling Ansaru bases in the state.
“These successes came at a cost, as some of our brave officers paid the supreme price. For a former governor of a state in person of El-Rufai to deny these sacrifices on national television is both unfair and deeply insulting to the memories of our security personnel,” ONSA said.
The NSA’s office urged El-Rufai and other political actors to refrain from dragging national security institutions into partisan politics, noting that the fight against banditry is “a collective struggle, not a platform for political point-scoring.” he said.