Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has made explosive allegations against the administration of Governor Uba Sani, claiming it paid bandits ₦1 billion as ransom after school abductions and even issued apologies to the criminal groups. In a fiery interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, El-Rufai challenged the government to publicly refute the claims, insisting he possesses irrefutable evidence that will be revealed “when the time comes.”
El-Rufai, who governed Kaduna from 2015 to 2023, contrasted his hardline “kinetic” approach which favored military action over negotiations with what he described as the Sani administration’s “nonsense” policy of empowerment. “₦1 billion was paid to bandits by the present government of Kaduna. They are paying bandits. They apologise to bandits. If the governor or anyone in government disagrees, let them come out to deny it. We have the evidence and proof,” he declared, referencing three school attacks in the past two years under Sani’s watch.
He alleged that the first incident involved a payment of ₦1 billion to secure the release of abducted students, adding: “They are paying bandits. They are empowering bandits. This is what this government is doing. And you think that will work? It will not work. It has never worked anywhere in the world.” El-Rufai attributed the strategy to a broader national policy driven by the Office of the National Security Adviser, which he said many states including Kaduna under his tenure had resisted. “What I will not do is pay bandits, give them monthly allowances, or send food to them in the name of non-kinetic measures. It’s nonsense. We are empowering bandits,” he fumed.
The former governor advocated a zero-tolerance stance: “My position has always been that the only repentant bandit is a dead one. Let’s kill them all. Let’s wipe them out. Let’s bomb them until they are reduced to nothing. And then the 5 percent that still want rehabilitation can be rehabilitated. You do not negotiate from a position of weakness. You don’t empower your enemy. You don’t give him money to buy more sophisticated weapons.”
To reinforce his claims, El-Rufai invited verification from military figures who served in Kaduna during his administration, including retired Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya, former Chief of Army Staff and General Officer Commanding (GOC) in the state. “You can ask three service chiefs that served in Kaduna under my watch. One of them is still alive, Farouk Yahaya… I saw him yesterday at a wedding. You can call him, bring him to this forum, and ask him what we did,” he said. He noted that only three schools were attacked in his eight years in office, compared to three attacks in Sani’s first two years.
@thenigerialawyerEl-Rufai Alleges Kaduna Govt Paid Bandits ₦1bn Ransom, Apologized To Them – Issues Challenge For Denial As State Demands Proof
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El-Rufai dismissed any claims of reduced banditry, particularly in hotspots like the Dine Gwari corridor, as an illusion. “There is no slowdown… The quiet we’ve seen… Nigerians are dying of hunger,” he added, linking insecurity to broader governance failures.
The allegations have triggered immediate backlash from the Kaduna State Government, which has given El-Rufai a one-week ultimatum to provide evidence or face legal action. In a statement, the government categorically denied the alleged payments, calling them “baseless and mischievous,” and accused El-Rufai of hypocrisy by referencing past claims that his own administration used public funds for similar dealings. Governor Sani’s aide, speaking on Channels TV, reinforced the counter-allegation: “El-Rufai used Kaduna taxpayers’ money to pay bandits,” turning the accusation back on the former governor.
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