We Pay No Ransom To Bandits – FG Disproves El-Rufai’s Claim
ABUJA – Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has disproved claims by the former governor of Kaduna state, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai alleging that the ONSA coordinates a policy of payments and offers incentives to bandits.
This is contained in a statement on Monday, signed and released by Zakari Mijinyawa, the spokesperson for the Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja.
The statement clarifies that at no time has the ONSA, or any arm of government under Tinubu’s administration, engaged in ransom payments or inducements to criminals.
It also urges El-Rufai and all political actors to desist from dragging national security institutions into partisan battles.
”On the contrary, we have consistently warned Nigerians against paying ransom. El-Rufai’s allegations are not only false but also contradict verifiable facts on ground” the statement 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 efforts of our gallant military and security agencies in capturing or eliminating notorious bandits have been widely reported in the media. In Kaduna alone, known kingpins as who once terrorised residents such as Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari and Boka, among others, were eliminated. Only recently, leaders of Ansaru who previously established bases in Kaduna were apprehended”
”These successes came at a cost, 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”
The statement notes that fight against banditry is a collective struggle, not a platform for political point-scoring.
In a television interview on Sunday, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai alleged that the ONSA coordinates a policy of payments and offers incentives to bandits.
