- Safiu Kehinde
The Presidency has countered former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over his allegation of romance between the Federal Government and bandits across the country.
NPO Reported that El-Rufa had in an interview on Channels TV’s Sunday Politics programme yesterday accused the President Bola Tinubu-led administration of empowering bandits.
He alleged that the government was empowering bandits by paying them a “monthly allowance, and “sending food to them” in the name of non-kinetic measure which he described as a kiss-the-bandits policy.
Reacting to the claim in a statement issued on Monday, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) labelled El-Rufai’s claims baseless.
The NSA held that it had never engaged in payment of ransom or inducement to criminals.
It further explained that government adopted a dual strategy: decisive kinetic operations alongside community engagements aimed at addressing local grievances.
This, according to the statement yielded results in several parts of Kaduna states, including the elimination of bandit’s kingpins.
The NSA labelled El-Rufai’s claims as unfair and deeply insulting to the memories of the Nigerian security personnel.
It urged the ex-Kaduna governor and other political actors to desist from dragging national security institutions into partisan battles and scoring political points.
The statement read; “The attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has been drawn to comments made by the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, in a television interview on Sunday.
“In that interview, he alleged, falsely, that the ONSA coordinates a policy of payments and offers incentives to bandits. This claim is baseless.
“At no time has the ONSA, or any arm of government under this administration, engaged in ransom payments or inducements to criminals.
“This claim is baseless. At no time has the ONSA, or any arm of government under this administration, engaged in ransom payments or inducements to criminals.
“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.
“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.
“We urge El-Rufai and all political actors to desist from dragging national security institutions into partisan battles. The fight against banditry is a collective struggle, not a platform for political point-scoring.”