The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has condemned former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai for what it describes as the politicisation of national security matters.
The rebuttal followed allegations made by El-Rufai during a television interview on Sunday.
El-Rufai accused the federal government of paying and empowering armed groups under the guise of peace negotiations.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, El-Rufai alleged that the policy of compensating bandits was being coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and implemented across several states.
“What I will not do is to pay bandits. They are paying bandits. They are empowering bandits. This is what this government has done. We have the evidence,” the former governor declared.
El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna between 2015 and 2023, said dialogue with terrorists is dangerous and counterproductive. According to him, the only effective solution is military force.
“My position has always been that the only repentant bandit is a dead one. Let’s kill them all. Let’s bomb them until they are reduced to nothing. Then the 5% that still want to be rehabilitated can be rehabilitated,” he stated.
The former governor dismissed the so-called “non-kinetic” approach, warning that it only strengthens criminal networks.
“You do not negotiate from a position of weakness. You don’t empower your enemy. You don’t give him money to go on and buy more sophisticated weapons. That’s why the security problem has not gone away. It will not go away as long as this policy continues,” he said.
In his appearance, the former governor claimed that the ONSA coordinates a government policy of making payments and offering incentives to bandits. A statement released by ONSA on Monday firmly rejected this assertion, labelling the claims as “baseless” and without merit.
However in an early statement Monday morning, the security agency categorically denied that any arm of the administration has engaged in ransom payments or inducements to criminals. “On the contrary, we have consistently warned Nigerians against paying ransom,” the statement clarified. It further outlined the government’s security strategy, which combines decisive military operations with community engagement initiatives designed to address underlying local grievances.
The ONSA cited improved security conditions in previously volatile areas of Kaduna State, such as Igabi, Birnin Gwari, and Giwa, as evidence of the strategy’s effectiveness. The statement also listed several notorious bandit leaders who have been neutralised in the state, including Boderi, Baleri, and Sani Yellow Janburos.
Expressing strong disapproval, the ONSA noted that the former governor’s comments disregarded the sacrifices of security personnel, some of whom have lost their lives in operations. The agency called for an end to partisan debates over security, urging all political actors to treat the fight against banditry as a collective national struggle rather than a platform for political point-scoring.
Read full statement:
Press Statement
Monday 1 September 2025
FCT ABUJA
FIGHT AGAINST BANDITRY: FACTS DISPROVE EL-RUFAI’S FALSE CLAIMS
The attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) 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.
On the contrary, we have consistently warned Nigerians against paying ransom. El-Rufai’s allegations are not only false but also contradict verifiable facts on ground.
From inception, this government adopted a dual strategy: decisive kinetic operations alongside community engagements aimed at addressing local grievances. The result 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 as 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.
These successes came at a cost, some of our brave officers paid the supreme price. For a former governor of a state in person of El-Rufai to deny these sacrifices on national television is both unfair and deeply insulting to the memories of our 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.
SIGNED
Zakari Mijinyawa
For: Office of the National Security Adviser
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