El-Rufai Accuses Nigerian Government of Paying Terrorist Despite Office of the National Security Adviser Denials

 El-Rufai Accuses Nigerian Government of Paying Terrorist Despite Office of the National Security Adviser Denials Former Kaduna State Govern...

 El-Rufai Accuses Nigerian Government of Paying Terrorist Despite Office of the National Security Adviser Denials

Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has intensified his criticism of the federal government’s handling of insecurity, insisting that payments are being made to armed bandits despite denials by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

El-Rufai first raised the allegations during a Channels Television programme on Sunday, claiming the government has adopted what he termed a “kiss-the-bandits policy,” providing allowances and food to non-state actors under the guise of a non-kinetic security strategy.

“What I will not do is to pay bandits, give them a monthly allowance, or send food to them in the name of non-kinetic. It’s nonsense; we’re empowering bandits,” he said.

The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, responded on Monday, with his office describing the claims as false and baseless.

In a statement signed by Zakari Mijinyawa, the ONSA said it has never engaged in ransom payments or inducements to criminals, emphasising that the administration has consistently warned Nigerians against paying ransoms

Undeterred, El-Rufai issued a longer statement later on Monday, accusing ONSA and the Kaduna State Government of politicising national security and attempting to suppress evidence of payments to bandits.

“As usual, the combined voices of the Government of Kaduna State and ONSA, instead of responding to the core issues I raised, seek to deflect responsibility by alleging that exposing them amounts to politicising security,” he wrote.

“We are not the first to reveal the government’s ongoing greasing of the palms of non-state actors in Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Niger, Kebbi, and other states.”

El-Rufai alleged that videos and testimonies from traditional rulers, clerics, and community leaders confirm that payments to bandits are ongoing, saying official denials “fall flat.”

He accused the ONSA of prioritising “protocol, propaganda, and international junkets” over discreet intelligence coordination, warning that the policy was deepening insecurity and draining state finances.

He further questioned the definition of “negotiations with bandits,” asking, “Why is a non-kinetic approach to addressing banditry equal to withdrawing huge amounts of money from state treasuries and handing them over to bandits and terrorists?”

El-Rufai also challenged officials to account for the source of sudden wealth among Abuja property buyers in recent years, citing continued killings in Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Kajuru, and other parts of Kaduna State as evidence that the government’s strategy has failed.

He dismissed what he called “official propaganda” about the rescue of kidnap victims, insisting that families often pay ransoms before operations are publicised.

In addition, he accused the Kaduna State Government of muzzling local media and concealing security data, contrasting this with his administration’s practice of publishing quarterly security reports.

Recent revelations by civil society organisations, he claimed, have exposed the “false facades” surrounding purported security improvements.

El-Rufai also criticised Ribadu for involving military and security officers in political events, describing it as “the same politicisation of security personnel that the ONSA purports to disdain.”

“National security is a very serious matter, critical to the peace and prosperity of the country, and the safety and wellbeing of citizens.

“It is unpatriotic to disguise incompetence in understanding it, much less managing it, as media stunts,” he said.