The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has dismissed claims by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that the Federal Government engages in ransom payments and incentives to bandits.
In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, ONSA described El-Rufai’s allegations, made during a television interview on Sunday, 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 Zakari Mijinyawa on behalf of the office said.
According to ONSA, the current administration has adopted a dual strategy involving “decisive kinetic operations alongside community engagements” to address banditry. The office cited successes in Kaduna communities such as Igabi, Birnin Gwari, and Giwa, which it said had recorded improved peace due to security operations.
The statement noted that several notorious bandit leaders, including Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari, and Boka, had been eliminated, while Ansaru leaders previously operating in Kaduna had recently been arrested.
“These successes came at a cost, as some of our brave officers paid the supreme price. 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 ONSA stated.
It urged El-Rufai and other political actors to refrain from dragging security institutions into partisan politics, stressing that the fight against banditry “is a collective struggle, not a platform for political point-scoring.”
