The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has dismissed claims by former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, that government agencies are paying or offering incentives to bandits.
El-Rufai, during a television interview on Sunday, alleged that the ONSA coordinates such policies. In a swift response on Monday, the ONSA described the allegation as “false and 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 signed by ONSA spokesman, Zakari Mijinyawa, read.
The office recalled that the government had consistently cautioned citizens against paying ransom, stressing that facts on the ground disprove the former governor’s claims.
According to the ONSA, the Federal Government has maintained a two-pronged approach — military action combined with community engagement — which has brought relief to previously troubled areas in Kaduna State, including Igabi, Birnin Gwari and Giwa.
It noted that several notorious bandits who once terrorised residents of the state had been eliminated. Among them were Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari and Boka, while key leaders of the Ansaru sect, who previously established bases in Kaduna, were recently arrested.
“These achievements did not come without sacrifice, as some of our gallant officers paid the supreme price. For a former governor to deny these sacrifices on national television is unfair and insulting to the memory of our fallen heroes,” the ONSA stated.
The office urged political leaders to refrain from dragging national security agencies into partisan disputes, stressing that the fight against banditry “is a collective struggle, not a platform for political point-scoring.”
