El-Rufai Claims FG Is Making Payments to Bandits
El-Rufai Claims FG Is Making Payments to Bandits
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has accused the government of paying bandits to prevent attacks on Nigerians.
Speaking on Sunday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, El-Rufai argued that bandits should be confronted militarily rather than negotiated with.
The ex-governor, who held office from 2015 to 2023, claimed that the policy of negotiating with and compensating armed groups is a national directive promoted by the Office of the National Security Adviser.
He stated, “What I will not do is pay bandits. But they are paying bandits. They are empowering bandits. This is what this government has done. We have the evidence. They are paying and empowering bandits.”
“It’s a national policy driven by the Office of the National Security Adviser, and Kaduna is part of it. Many states are objecting to that. But that is the policy now.”
El-Rufai maintained that dialogue with terrorists is dangerous.
“My position has always been that the only repentant bandit is a dead one. Let’s kill them all.
Let’s wipe them. Let’s bomb them until they are reduced to nothing. And then the 5% that still want to be rehabilitated can be rehabilitated,” he declared.
He argued that the so-called non-kinetic strategy only strengthens criminal groups.
“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 added.
The former governor also cited intelligence and media reports to back his claims.
“Just last week, SBM published a report that showed that the security situation in Kaduna and Zamfara has actually deteriorated under this government’s watch. A week earlier or two weeks earlier, Sahara Reporters published another credible report that actually, insecurity has been increasing. What the government has been doing both at the national and state levels is buying the media from reporting it,” he said.
El-Rufai, who described himself as one of the founding fathers of the All Progressives Congress, defended his record in Kaduna, noting that his administration created a Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs and worked closely with security chiefs.
He insisted, however, that unlike the current government, he never paid off criminal groups.
The former governor, who has faced criticism over his political affiliations and controversies in Kaduna, said he remains unapologetic about his stance.
“Even if it were my son or my father serving as president or governor, and they were not acting rightly, would I lose the right to disagree or criticize? Is that considered negative? Is that what Nigeria stands for?” he asked.
He reiterated his position that the current government has failed Nigerians across all areas, including security, the economy, and governance.
