Onilede Titi Faith
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has denied allegations by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that the Federal Government is coordinating payments and inducements to bandits.
In a statement signed on Monday by its spokesperson, Zakari Mijinyawa, ONSA described El-Rufai’s comments as “baseless” and contrary to verifiable facts, stressing that the administration has never engaged in ransom payments or inducements to criminals.
“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,” the statement read.
El-Rufai, while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday, accused the Federal Government of adopting a “kiss-the-bandits” approach, alleging that national security officials were compensating armed groups instead of confronting them militarily. He insisted that such a “non-kinetic” approach amounted to empowering bandits.
