The vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (2023 elections), Datti Baba-Ahmed, has faulted former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over his recent allegation that the government is paying bandits, claiming that the former minister cannot absolve himself from the blame.

Baba-Ahmed, who made a guest appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of using insecurity as a political tool.

“El-Rufai cannot run away because he is part of it,” he said on the programme on Tuesday while commenting on the former APC chieftain’s allegation.

“My grudge with Nasiru’s statement is that he was part and parcel of the APC from 2013. Like he told you, he was one of the architects of it all. All of a sudden, [he has] to come and absolve himself. No. Nasiru is part and parcel of all that has been going on. We suffered, we are victims of Nasiru’s misrule in Zaria.”

Baba-Ahmed alleged that insecurity had been “politicised and orchestrated” by the APC.

“I am in so much pain, believe me. Nigeria should be a great country, yet we have people destroying us by the hour. Insecurity has been part of APC’s game, and Nasiru is saying it.

“I think he is right, the government has been paying them. Insecurity has been the APC’s way of staying in power. That is my candid, firm opinion, strengthened by the kind of unfortunate comments like that of Nasiru,” he said.

He criticised the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) for dismissing El-Rufai’s remarks.

“The reaction of ONSA is not disputing what Nasiru has said. Nasiru should be writing some comments and statements by now,” he argued.

“If the Office of the National Security Adviser will take this statement with levity, then Nuhu Ribadu was never a policeman. Nasiru should be writing to the police, to the court. If the position of the government is to be paying bandits, then we don’t have a nation,” Baba-Ahmed added.

READ ALSO: El-Rufai Should Be Questioned Over Allegations Of FG Paying Bandits — Datti Baba-Ahmed

El-Rufai’s Allegation

El-Rufai had sparked controversy when he alleged on Sunday Politics that both the Federal Government and Kaduna State Government were worsening insecurity by empowering bandits, claiming they paid as much as ₦1 billion to criminal groups.

“What I will not do is 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 not the government of Kaduna State; it’s a national policy driven by the Office of the National Security Adviser, and Kaduna is part of it. Kiss the bandits; that’s the new policy,” he said.

El-Rufai, a two-term governor, insisted that only decisive force could end banditry.

“My position has always been [that] the only repentant bandit is a dead one. Let’s kill them all. Let’s bomb them until they are reduced to nothing, and then the five per cent that still want to be rehabilitated can be rehabilitated,” he stated.

FG’s Rebuttal

The Federal Government, however, rejected his allegation. In a statement on Monday, ONSA described El-Rufai’s claim as “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 the ground,” the statement signed by Zakari Mijinyawa partly read.

The ONSA said the government’s dual strategy of military operations and community engagement had recorded progress, noting that notorious bandit leaders had been eliminated and several Ansaru members apprehended.

The Nigerian Armed Forces also dismissed El-Rufai’s claim, noting that “The armed forces of Nigeria do not support the payment of money to criminal groups.”

The Chief of Defence Operations, General Emeka Onumajuru, who spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, explained that instead of payments, the military runs a Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) programme through Operation Safe Corridor.

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Government had described El-Rufai’s remarks as “calculated, malicious lies designed to undermine security efforts, incite public anger, and legitimise criminality”.

The Kaduna Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Suleiman Shuaibu, accused the former minister of the FCT of attempting to destabilise the state following his allies’ defeat in the August 16 by-elections.

Despite the backlash, El-Rufai on Monday doubled down on his claim, accusing both the ONSA and the Kaduna government of politicising security.

In a lengthy post on his social media handles, he alleged that state actors were complicit in “greasing the palms” of non-state armed groups and challenged authorities to explain the mechanics of the alleged payments.

“It is a well-known fact to discerning Nigerians that the face of the politicisation of national security for politically intended purposes resides, for the first time in our recent history, in the ONSA under its present leadership,” El-Rufai wrote.

He also raised questions over alleged illicit financial flows, hinting at suspicious real estate purchases in Abuja, which he linked to corruption.