ONSA Counters El-Rufai: “No Payments to Bandits” Separating Facts fromFiction

 

NSA Office

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has explicitly rejected claims made by former Kaduna Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai that the government pays bandits, stating that such assertions contradict documented successes in restoring security.

Zig Diaries | Defence
Date: Monday, 1 September 2025
Time: 08:30 WAT
Location: 📍Abuja, Nigeria

El-Rufai’s charge that ONSA coordinates payments to bandits was made during a televised interview. ONSA responded with facts saying dedicated military operations dismantled terror networks in Kaduna, and communities once terrorised now know relative peace.

In the interview, El-Rufai claimed, alleged that kidnappings fund Boko Haram and that bandits have infiltrated positions of authority.

A statement issued by Zakari Mijinyawa on behalf of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), on Monday September 1, 2025 said "At no time has this administration authorised payments to criminals. We have consistently warned against ransom and deployed decisive military operations combined with meaningful community engagement."

The statement clarified that the ONSA has never coordinated ransom payments or inducements to criminal groups. Instead, the government has consistently warned Nigerians against paying ransom while pursuing a dual strategy of military operations and community engagements to restore peace.

“From inception, this government adopted a dual strategy: decisive kinetic operations alongside community engagements 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 but are now experiencing relative peace,” the ONSA said.

The ONSA emphasised recent security achievements in Kaduna, noting that notorious bandit kingpins including Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari and Boka were eliminated, while Ansaru leaders who once maintained bases in the state have been arrested.

these achievements according to the NSA Office came at a heavy price. “Some of our brave officers paid the supreme price. For a former governor to deny these sacrifices on national television is both unfair and deeply insulting to the memories of our security personnel,”

 “The fight against banditry is a collective struggle, not a platform for political point-scoring,”

The ONSA urged political actors to avoid dragging security institutions into partisan debates while calling for restraint.

🏷️Tags: ONSA, El-Rufai, Kaduna, banditry, security operations, Nigeria

#ZigDiariesDefence #Nigeria #Kaduna #Banditry #El-Rufai #ONSA #NSA

Fact-Check & Background Context

El-Rufai had expressed firm opposition to negotiations with bandits and any form of ransom, stating it emboldens criminals during the channels interview

Several high-profile bandit commanders have indeed been neutralised in Kaduna thanks to joint military and security agency operations as security officials showed to the public.

Ansaru, a jihadist splinter of Boko Haram, had bases in Birnin Gwari; capturing these leaders marked a major security victory for fight against terror.