The federal government has debunked claims by the former Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) coordinates a policy of payments and offers incentives to bandits.
In a statement shared on its X account on Monday by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, the press secretary to the Office of the National Security Adviser, Zakari Mijinyawa, described the claims as baseless, emphasising that at no time has the ONSA, or any arm of government under this administration, engaged in ransom payments or inducements to criminals.
Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, in a television interview on Sunday. alleged that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) ensures free flow of payments and offers incentives to bandits to protect its image and cover up the government’s flaws on security.
The ONSA stated that the security outfit has consistently warned Nigerians against paying ransom, pointing out that El-Rufai’s allegations are not only false but also contradict verifiable facts on ground.
Zakari maintained that the Tinubu-led administration had adopted a dual strategy: decisive kinetic operations alongside community engagements aimed at addressing local grievances. The result, according to him, is evident in areas such as Igabi, Birnin Gwari, Giwa, and other parts of Kaduna that once suffered untold terror in Kaduna state but are now experiencing relative peace.
The efforts of our gallant military and security agencies in capturing or eliminating notorious bandits have been widely reported in the media. In Kaduna alone, known kingpins who once terrorised residents such as Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari and Boka, among others, were eliminated. Only recently, leaders of Ansaru who previously established bases in Kaduna were apprehended,” the statement reads.
ONSA stressed that its success story in its fight against banditry came at a cost, adding that some of its brave officers paid the supreme price. The statement described El-Rufai’s denial on national television as unfair and deeply insulting to the memories of its security personnel.
”We urge El-Rufai and all political actors to desist from dragging national security institutions into partisan battles., The fight against banditry is a collective struggle, not a platform for political point-scoring,’ the statement reads.
