By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has issued a stern rebuke to former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, dismissing his claims that the government pays ransoms to bandits as “baseless” and “false.”
The statement, released on Monday, comes in response to an interview El-Rufai gave on Sunday where he alleged that ONSA coordinates a policy of payments and incentives for criminals.
“The attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has been drawn to comments made by the former Governor… he alleged, falsely, that the ONSA coordinates a policy of payments and offers incentives to bandits. This claim is baseless,” the statement read.
ONSA firmly stated that at no time has it or any government arm under the current administration engaged in such practices, adding that it has consistently warned citizens against paying ransoms.
The security office outlined the government’s dual strategy of “decisive kinetic operations alongside community engagements,” crediting this approach for the improved security and “relative peace” now experienced in previously terrorized parts of Kaduna like Igabi, Birnin Gwari, and Giwa.
The statement highlighted the elimination of notorious bandit kingpins such as Boderi, Baleri, and others in Kaduna, as well as the recent apprehension of leaders from the terrorist group, Ansaru.
In a strongly worded conclusion, ONSA described El-Rufai’s denial of these security gains as “unfair and deeply insulting” to the memories of fallen security personnel.
It urged the former governor and all political actors to “desist from dragging national security institutions into partisan battles,” emphasizing that the fight against banditry is a “collective struggle, not a platform for political point-scoring.”