The Federal Government has denied allegations made by former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai that the government is paying bandits. The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) described El-Rufai’s claims as baseless and contradicting verifiable facts on the ground. According to ONSA, the government has consistently warned Nigerians against paying ransoms to bandits and has adopted a dual strategy of decisive kinetic operations alongside community engagements aimed at addressing local grievances.
El-Rufai had accused the Federal Government of adopting a “kiss-the-bandits” approach, alleging that the government was negotiating with and compensating armed groups rather than confronting them militarily. He claimed that the policy was driven by the Office of the National Security Adviser and that Kaduna State was part of it. However, ONSA spokesperson Zakari Mijinyawa denied these allegations, stating that the government has never authorized ransom payments or inducements to criminal gangs.
The government maintains that its efforts have led to relative peace in areas such as Igabi, Birnin Gwari, and Giwa in Kaduna State, which previously suffered from banditry. ONSA urged El-Rufai and other political actors to stop dragging national security institutions into partisan battles and to support the fight against banditry.
