Datti Baba-Ahmed demands investigation.
· Civic group petitions embassies for a travel ban against former governor
· NSA office maintains denial of all allegations
By Eshiorameh Sebastian, Amos Adamu
Former governor Nasir El-Rufai could be questioned by police over his own explosive claim that the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) is paying “monthly allowances” to bandits, a move that has triggered political upheaval and formal demands for an investigation.
This development came as former Labour Party vice presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed has demanded an investigation.
This is even as a civic group has petitioned foreign embassies to impose a travel ban on the former governor, and the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) continues to firmly deny all allegations.
According to sources within the Nigeria Police Force who spoke with Spear News in confidence, the former governor may be formally invited to provide concrete evidence for his claims that the NSA’s office was orchestrating payments to bandits in Kaduna State in a controversial bid to secure peace.
The situation followed a recent television appearance by El-Rufai, who during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, alleged that the Federal Government and the Kaduna State government were paying a “monthly allowance” to bandits and sending “food to them in the name of non kinetic” approaches to security.
He described the alleged policy in stark terms, calling it a “kiss-the-bandits” strategy. “What I will not do is to pay bandits, give them a monthly allowance, or send food to them in the name of non-kinetic. It’s nonsense; we are empowering bandits,” El-Rufai stated.
He was adamant that this was not a local initiative, claiming, “It’s not the government of Kaduna State; it’s a national policy driven by the Office of the National Security Adviser, and Kaduna is part of it. Kiss the bandits; that’s the new policy.”
These allegations, which strike at the heart of the government’s strategy to combat widespread insecurity and kidnapping, were swiftly denied by the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Kaduna State government, both labelling the claims as entirely baseless. However, the denial has done little to quell the growing political storm. Instead, it has prompted a fierce response from voices in the opposition, most notably Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 election.
Baba-Ahmed believes Nasir El-Rufai’s allegations are so grave that they must be taken with the utmost seriousness, and he has publicly suggested that the former governor should himself be questioned by authorities.
Appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, he launched a stinging critique of the NSA’s office for its rebuttal, insisting that the Federal Government should not treat the claims with levity.
He said, “If the so-called office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) would take this statement with levity, then Nuhu Ribadu was never a policeman; he is not a qualified lawyer; he should not be in that office.” When asked directly what should be done, Baba-Ahmed was unequivocal: “Nasir should be writing some statements to the police, to the courts”.
The controversy has now expanded beyond the shores of Nigeria, drawing in the international community. A civic organisation, the Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN), has taken the extraordinary step of petitioning numerous foreign embassies, including Egypt, urging them to shut their doors to the former governor.
In a letter addressed to the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, China, and all nations represented in Nigeria, as well as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, which was made available to this medium, the group’s National Coordinator, Comrade Michael Briggs, pleaded for El-Rufai to be declared persona non grata.
The letter describes El-Rufai as a “Merchant of Hate” and argues that his recent comments on Southern Kaduna are a “calculated step towards justifying more violence”. It reminds the diplomats of El-Rufai’s past threat to put foreign election observers “in body bags” and alleges that under his rule, “Kaduna state drowned in blood”. The plea concludes with a “non-negotiable demand” for a complete travel ban, stating, “Do not let him step foot on your soil.”
Meanwhile, the Office of the National Security Adviser has maintained its firm and consistent denial of all allegations. In its official statements, the office has characterised El-Rufai’s claims as not only false but also irresponsible and a dangerous distraction from the ongoing work of security agencies.
The NSA’s position is that no such national policy of paying bandits exists and that the government’s non-kinetic approaches are focused on deradicalisation and rehabilitation programmes, not on cash payments or appeasement. This denial sets the stage for a direct confrontation, should police investigators decide to formally pursue the matter and seek evidence from all involved parties.
The potential police inquiry, if it proceeds, would place El-Rufai in a uniquely difficult position. Having made a serious allegation of state-sponsored bribery on national television, the authorities appear poised to hold him to account by asking him to substantiate his claims under official scrutiny. This move transforms him from a commentator into a central figure in a potential investigation.
The allegations also touch upon a sensitive and ongoing debate in Nigeria about how best to tackle the endemic insecurity plaguing the nation’s northern regions.
The term “non-kinetic” has become a buzzword for strategies that move beyond military force, encompassing everything from engaging in dialogue with militants to community development programmes.
Critics often view such approaches as a form of appeasement that rewards criminality, while proponents argue they are a necessary pragmatism to save lives and create windows for peace. El-Rufai’s characterization of the policy as simply paying monthly allowances is a crude simplification of this complex debate, but it is one that resonates with a large segment of the public who are frustrated with the persistent violence.
Discussion about this post