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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has dismissed as baseless and deeply insulting claims by former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that the federal government is paying bandits or offering them incentives.
Recall that El-Rufai, in a television interview on Sunday, alleged that the ONSA was coordinating a policy of ransom payments and inducements to criminal gangs terrorizing parts of the country.
Reacting in a statement on Monday, ONSA spokesperson, Zakari Mijinyawa said, “At no time has this administration, through ONSA or any of its agencies, paid ransom or offered inducements to criminals. El-Rufai’s claims are not only false but contradict verifiable facts on the ground.”
According to the statement, the current administration has adopted a dual approach to combating banditry: “decisive kinetic operations alongside community engagement to address local grievances.” It cited improved security in Kaduna communities once under siege, including Igabi, Birnin Gwari and Giwa.
“Notorious bandits and kingpins such as Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari and Boka have been eliminated, while leaders of Ansaru who once held sway in Kaduna have been apprehended,” Mijinyawa added.
He said the gains recorded came at a heavy price, with many security operatives paying the ultimate sacrifice. “For a former governor to deny these sacrifices on national television is both unfair and a grave insult to the memories of our fallen heroes,” he said.
The ONSA urged El-Rufai and other political actors to refrain from politicizing national security. “The fight against banditry is a collective struggle, not a platform for political point-scoring,” it stated.