By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
The Nigerian Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has refuted the allegation by former Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, that the agency coordinates a policy of payments and offers incentives to bandits, describing it as Baseless.
This was contained in a statement signed by Zakari Mijinyawa for the agency and made available to the SUMMIT POST in Abuja on Monday.
The statement partly read: “The attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser has been drawn to comments made by former governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, in a television interview on Sunday. In that interview, he alleged 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.”
The statement noted that from the inception of the current Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration, both kinetic and non-kinetic (particularly community engagements) had been the model used to achieve the milestones recorded in the fight against terrorism and release of kidnapped victims in recent times.
The agency explained that “from inception, this government adopted a dual strategy: decisive kinetic operations, and community engagement 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”.