National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu has fired back at former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai over claims that the federal government is paying bandits
In a statement issued Monday by Zakari Mijinyawa, an adviser in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Ribadu described El-Rufai’s allegation as false, baseless, and contrary to verified facts.
El-Rufai, in a recent television interview, alleged that the NSA coordinated ransom payments and incentives to bandits. Ribadu dismissed this, stressing that no arm of government under the current administration has ever paid criminals.
“The attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser 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,” the statement read.
The NSA maintained that, contrary to El-Rufai’s claims, his office has consistently warned against paying ransom and has pursued a two-pronged approach—decisive military operations alongside community engagement—to address insecurity.
Ribadu highlighted successes in Kaduna State, noting that notorious bandit leaders such as Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari, and Boka have been eliminated, while leaders of Ansaru terror group have been captured. He emphasized that these achievements came at great sacrifice, with security personnel losing their lives.
“For a former governor to deny these sacrifices on national television is both unfair and deeply insulting to the memories of our security personnel,” the NSA said.
Ribadu urged El-Rufai and other political figures to refrain from dragging national security institutions into partisan disputes, insisting that the fight against banditry should be a shared national effort, not an avenue for political point-scoring.
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