El-Rufai Accuses FG of Funding and Feeding Bandits

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has taken a swipe at the Federal Government, accusing it of adopting what he described as a “kiss-the-bandits policy” in handling insecurity.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, El-Rufai alleged that rather than confronting the criminal gangs, the government was indirectly strengthening them.

“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,” he said.

The former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory argued that the initiative was not peculiar to Kaduna State but a national programme coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).

“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 added.

El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna for two terms, criticised the idea of negotiating or rehabilitating armed groups. According to him, such an approach only fuels the crisis.

“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 insisted.

He maintained that the continued empowerment of criminals undermines national security.

“You do not negotiate from the position of weakness. You don’t empower your enemy; you don’t give him money to go and buy sophisticated weapons. That is why the insecurity problem has not gone away and will not go away as long as this policy continues,” El-Rufai said.

He challenged those in authority to counter his claims, saying: “They can deceive, they can cover up, they can do propaganda, but those that live in Katsina, those that live in Zamfara, those that live in Kaduna, those that live in those states, they know what is happening. Let the governor or anyone come and deny. When the time comes, we will reveal everything.”

His comments come amid persistent insecurity in the North, where communities in Katsina, Benue, and Plateau have recently suffered fresh attacks.

While the Presidency has yet to officially respond, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, had in July defended government efforts, saying violent crimes in the region had reduced under President Bola Tinubu compared to the previous administration.

Ribadu noted that 1,192 people were killed and more than 3,348 kidnapped in Kaduna during the last administration, while Benue State lost over 5,000 lives within the same period. He added that as of May 2025, military operations in the North-West had freed 11,259 hostages and neutralised several notorious bandit leaders.

The NSA has repeatedly urged citizens not to pay ransoms, stressing that such payments only encourage criminal networks.