By ABAH ADAH, Abuja
Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, has described the allegation by a former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that it coordinates a policy of payment and offers incentives to bandits, as baseless.
This was contained in a statement signed by Zakari Mijinyawa for the Office of the National Security Adviser, and made available to AljazirahNigeria in Abuja, yesterday.
The statement noted that the ONSA had rather consistently warned Nigerians against paying ransom.
“El-Rufai’s allegations are not only false, but also contradict verifiable facts on ground,” it said.
The statement noted that from the inception of the current Bola Tinubu-led administration, both kinetic and non-kinetic (particularly community engagements) approaches have been deployed to achieve the milestones recorded in the fight against terrorism and the release of kidnapped victims in recent times.
It 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 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 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.”
