El-Rufai accused the Nigerian government of funding terrorists

Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, accused the Federal government of indirectly strengthening terrorists through what he described as a deformed security strategy that prioritized negotiations for strength.

Speaking in television politics Channels today on Sunday, El-Rufai criticized the “non-cinetic” approach to insecurity.

He accused that officials paid and provided resources to bandits instead of facing them militarily.

“What I will not do is pay for bandits, give them monthly allowance or send food to them. Non-synietic bullshit. We empower bandits. That’s what is happening,” he said.

El-Rufai, who served as Governor of Kaduna between 2015 and 2023, claimed the practice of negotiating with and providing compensation of armed groups was a national direction driven by the National Security Advisory Office, despite the opposition from several countries.

“This is a national policy … Many states are objected. But that is the current policy,” he said.

The former governor argues that dialogue with terrorists venting them, insisting that only a decisive military action can restore security.

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“My position is always that the one -the one who repented was the dead. Let’s clean it, their bombs, reduce them to no. And then five percent that still want to be rehabilitated can be rehabilitated,” he said.

He further warned that offering money or concessions to armed groups strengthened their capacity to obtain more sophisticated weapons. “You do not empower your enemies. You don’t give him money to buy more sophisticated weapons. That is why security problems are not lost,” he said.

Quoting the latest report by SBM Intelligence and Sahara Journalists, El-Rufai claimed that insecurity had deteriorated in countries such as Kaduna and Zamfara. He also accused the government’s authority to suppress unfavorable media reports, accusing that state officials and federal “buying media from reporting them.”

Maintaining his own records in the office, El-Rufai highlighted the creation of the Ministry of Internal Security and Domestic Affairs during his term of office, emphasizing that his government had never paid off criminal groups.

The former governor, who described himself as one of the Founding Founders of the Congress of All Progressive (APC), stated that the security approach has now failed in the Nigerians.

He warned that the consequences exceeded safety for the economy and governance.