LABOUR Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, has called for immediate questioning of former Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, over his shocking allegation that the Federal Government has been paying bandits monthly allowances and supplying them food under the guise of “non-kinetic” measures.
Speaking during a fiery interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday monitored by News Point Nigeria, Baba-Ahmed insisted that the weight of El-Rufai’s comments was too grave to be dismissed with what he described as “casual rebuttals” from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
“If the so-called office of the National Security Adviser would take this statement with levity, then Nuhu Ribadu was never a policeman; he is not a qualified lawyer; he should not be in that office,” the LP chieftain declared, berating the NSA’s swift denial of El-Rufai’s claims.
On Sunday, El-Rufai had stirred controversy when, during an appearance on Sunday Politics, he alleged that both the Federal and Kaduna State governments were complicit in providing stipends and food supplies to criminal gangs as part of a so-called peace strategy.
“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. This is a national policy driven by the Office of the National Security Adviser, and Kaduna is part of it,” El-Rufai stated bluntly.
His remarks sparked outrage, with both the NSA and Kaduna State Government swiftly denying the claims, describing them as “baseless” and “unfounded.”
But Baba-Ahmed, rather than accept the rebuttal, argued that such a statement from a former governor and ranking member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) could not be brushed aside.
“That is not a reaction,” he retorted. “Are people understanding the gravity of this statement? A national policy is an official position of government, publicly declared and broadcast. Was such a thing ever declared? Why did Nasir say it?”
Baba-Ahmed further accused El-Rufai of hypocrisy, alleging that the former governor was deeply entrenched in the same APC-led policies that, according to him, weaponised insecurity for political gain.
“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 wants to 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.”
The LP stalwart painted a grim picture of what he described as a “politicisation and orchestration of insecurity” by the ruling APC, insisting that the alleged bandit payments were not just rumours but consistent with what Nigerians had long suspected.
“Insecurity has been part of APC’s game, and Nasiru is saying it. I think he is right, the government has been paying them. That is my candid, firm opinion, strengthened by the kind of unfortunate comments like that of Nasiru,” he said, his voice breaking with emotion.
Baba-Ahmed lamented that instead of treating El-Rufai’s allegations with the seriousness they deserved, ONSA’s rebuttal only attempted to wave them aside.
“The reaction of ONSA is not disputing what Nasiru has said. Nasiru should be writing statements to the police, to the court. If the position of the government is to be paying bandits, then we don’t have a nation.”
The outspoken politician warned that Nigeria risks total collapse if issues of national security continue to be treated with political expediency rather than urgency.
“I am in so much pain, believe me. Nigeria should be a great country, yet we have people destroying us by the hour,” he lamented.