Why El-Rufai Should Be Interrogated On Bandit Payments

Datti Baba-Ahmed says El-Rufai must be questioned over bandit claims.
He dismisses NSA Ribadu’s rebuttal, calls it inadequate and unserious.
Baba-Ahmed blames El-Rufai’s policies for Zaria residents’ suffering.

Former vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Datti Baba-Ahmed, has said that allegations made by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, over government payments to bandits should not be taken lightly.

El-Rufai, during an appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, alleged that the Federal Government was paying “monthly allowances” to bandits and providing them with food under the guise of a non-kinetic approach to tackling insecurity. He described the arrangement as a “kiss-the-bandits” policy.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that he had said: “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.”

Reacting on Tuesday during an interview on Politics Today, Baba-Ahmed urged that El-Rufai should be questioned over such weighty claims.

“If the so-called Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) 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,” he said, dismissing the rebuttal issued by Ribadu’s office.

He insisted that El-Rufai ought to face interrogation. “Nasir should be writing some statements to the police, to the courts,” he maintained.

While the NSA’s office has denied the allegations, describing them as baseless, Baba-Ahmed argued that the denial was inadequate and failed to address the seriousness of the issue.

“That is not a reaction. Are people understanding the gravity of this statement?” he asked.

The LP chieftain further explained that a national policy is an official government declaration, publicly communicated and implemented. “That is what we call a national policy — it is made public, celebrated, and broadcast to the whole world. Was such a thing held? Why did Nasir say it?” he questioned.

Baba-Ahmed also lamented that residents of Zaria, including himself, continue to suffer the consequences of what he described as El-Rufai’s misrule in Kaduna State.

Why El-Rufai Should Be Interrogated On Bandit Payments — Datti Baba-Ahmed

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