Datti Baba-Ahmed Urges Probe into El-Rufai’s Banditry Allegations, Criticises NSA’s Response
Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, has called for serious attention to former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s claims that the Federal Government is financially supporting bandits.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television, Baba-Ahmed insisted the allegations warrant a thorough investigation and that El-Rufai should be questioned by the authorities.
“If the so-called Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) treats this claim lightly, then Nuhu Ribadu was never a policeman, nor a qualified lawyer, and is unfit for that position,” Baba-Ahmed said, rejecting the NSA’s denial of the accusations.
He stressed that rather than issuing denials, El-Rufai should be made to give formal statements to law enforcement and, if necessary, the courts.
El-Rufai, in an earlier appearance on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, alleged that both the Federal and Kaduna State governments were making regular payments to bandits and providing them with food, describing the approach as a misguided “non-kinetic” strategy.
He dubbed it a “kiss-the-bandits” policy, suggesting it was orchestrated by the Office of the NSA.
“I will never pay bandits or send them food under any excuse,” El-Rufai declared. “This is not a Kaduna State initiative — it’s a national policy driven by the NSA. That’s the new approach: kiss the bandits.”
In response, the Office of the NSA and the Kaduna State Government dismissed El-Rufai’s allegations as baseless. However, Baba-Ahmed rejected these rebuttals, calling them inadequate.
“That doesn’t qualify as a proper response,” he said, questioning whether the seriousness of El-Rufai’s statements was being properly grasped.
He further explained that a national policy implies a publicly declared, constitutionally backed strategy—something that, in his view, has not been done in this case.
“Was such a policy ever announced or celebrated? Why would Nasir make such claims if there was nothing to them?” he asked.
