Former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai accused the Federal Government of secretly funding bandits through what he called a “kiss-the-bandits” policy - a charge the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has firmly rejected as false.
Zig Diaries
| Defence
Date: Monday, 1 September 2025
Time: 08:15 WAT
Location: 📍 Abuja, Nigeria
The clash exposes deep fault lines in Nigeria’s security debate: should violent groups be crushed at all costs, or can engagement form part of the strategy?
Former Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai had accused the Federal Government of secretly funding bandits through what he called a “kiss-the-bandits” policy - a charge the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has firmly rejected as false.
The Interview excerpts
Speaking on
a Sunday night interview, El-Rufai alleged: “What I will not do is to pay
bandits, give them a monthly allowance, or send food to them in the name of non-kinetic.
It’s nonsense; we’re empowering bandits. It’s a national policy driven by the
Office of the National Security Adviser. Kiss the bandits; that’s the new
policy.”
The former
minister of the Federal Capital Territory argued that rewarding armed groups
only deepens insecurity. “The only repentant bandit is a dead one,” he
said. “Let’s kill them all. Let’s bomb them until they are reduced to
nothing.”
ONSA Response
ONSA pushed back in a statement issued by its spokesperson Zakari Mijinyawa,
“At no time has
this administration authorised payments or inducements to criminals. The record
is clear - security has been reclaimed through coordinated operations, not cash
settlements.”
National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu had previously highlighted battlefield successes accordingly by the armed forces, intellegence and other security forces setting the records.
11,259 hostages freed since 2023.
Top commanders neutralised in Kaduna, Zamfara, and Katsina, including Ansaru leaders once entrenched in Birnin Gwari.
Kaduna towns once besieged - Igabi, Giwa, Birnin Gwari - now report relative stability.
ONSA stressed that Nigeria’s security gains are the result of President Tinubu’s directive for a unified approach, insisting that claims of “feeding or funding” bandits distort reality.
Kaduna Crisis
Under El-Rufai as Governor for Two Terms
Various news
sources and data documented that between 2015 and 2023, there were
approximately 1,660 security incidents and 4,876
killings, that’s nearly two deaths per day during El-Rufai’s eight years in
office. ICIR News Reported
Also,
only five LGAs remained relatively safe. Birnin Gwari saw 818
deaths; Chikun 568; Giwa 495; Igabi 366 according to ICIR News
The Guardian Nigeria reported that in 2021 alone, 1,192
people were killed, 3,348 kidnapped, and 891 injured.
In just the
first quarter of 2023, Kaduna recorded 214 deaths and 746
abductions as reported by TheCable, The Nation Newspaper
Fact-Check & Background Contex
El-Rufai has long opposed some of the non-kinetic initiatives, rejecting negotiations with bandits as weakness.
His latest outburst reflects frustration with ongoing attacks in the North-West.
The
Armed Conflict Location &
Event Data Project ACLED confirms nearly
5,000 deaths in Kaduna during El-Rufai’s tenure
Kaduna’s 2021 and early 2023 kill and kidnap figures are
officially reported by the state government.
Only five local governments remained largely peaceful under
El-Rufai: Jaba, Kubau, Kudan, Makarfi, and Soba.
ONSA’s figures - thousands rescued,
top commanders neutralised - have been publicly cited by NSA Ribadu.
Independent checks confirm that several notorious terror leaders named by ONSA were in fact killed or captured during recent joint operations.
Insecurity is still a major concern in the North West, North East, further deepening developmental issues and general well being of citizens.
🏷️Tags: ONSA, El-Rufai, Kaduna, Security Operations, Nigeria, Ribadu, Banditry, Kaduna, Nigeria Defence, Security
#ZigDiariesDefence #ElRufai #Nigeria #Banditry #ONSA #NSA #CounterNarratives
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