Datti Baba-Ahmed urges probe into El-Rufai’s allegation of FG payments to bandits

Labour Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has called on security agencies to investigate former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s claim that the Federal Government pays monthly allowances to bandits.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Baba-Ahmed dismissed the denial issued by the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), arguing that the allegation required serious investigation rather than a mere rebuttal. “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,” he said.

He insisted El-Rufai should be compelled to provide details to security agencies, saying, “Nasir should be writing some statements to the police, to the courts.”

El-Rufai, during an appearance on Sunday Politics, had alleged that both the Federal Government and Kaduna State were providing monthly allowances and food to bandits under a “non-kinetic” policy. “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,” the former governor said.

The NSA and the Kaduna State Government have denied the allegations, describing them as baseless. However, Baba-Ahmed questioned the sufficiency of such denials, saying, “That is not a reaction. Are people understanding the gravity of this statement? A national policy is the official position of a government… Was such a thing held? Why did Nasir say it?”

He stressed that the seriousness of El-Rufai’s claims demanded accountability and a formal investigation.