El-Rufai alleged that the government was indirectly “empowering” the criminal groups by paying them a “monthly allowance” and supplying them with food under the guise of a non-kinetic approach to tackling insecurity.
Former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has accused the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government of providing support to bandits terrorising various parts of the country.
Speaking on Channels Television’s on Sunday, El-Rufai alleged that the government was indirectly “empowering” the criminal groups by paying them a “monthly allowance” and supplying them with food under the guise of a non-kinetic approach to tackling insecurity.
He described the strategy as a “kiss-the-bandits policy,” warning that such measures were only emboldening the groups rather than addressing the root causes of insecurity.
The former governor’s comments come amid rising concerns over the wave of kidnappings, attacks on rural communities, and killings across several northern states.
“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.
“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,” Rufai, a former minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT),” he said.
He criticised what he called a policy that focuses on rehabilitating bandits instead of holding them accountable for their crimes, saying it was to blame for the persistent insecurity in the country.
El-Rufai said, “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.
“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.”
“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,” the former Governor added.
Concerns over rising insecurity persist across the country, particularly in the North, following recent attacks in Katsina, Benue, and Plateau states.
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