Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has accused President Bola Tinubu’s government of openly encouraging banditry through what he described as a dangerous policy of “kissing bandits” instead of fighting them.
Speaking in a Channels TV interview on Sunday, El-Rufai alleged that the administration, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), is paying allowances to bandits and even supplying them with food.
He warned that this so-called “non-kinetic approach” is backfiring and worsening insecurity across northern Nigeria.
“What I will not do is pay bandits or send them food in the name of a non-kinetic approach. It is nonsense. We are empowering criminals.
It is 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,” El-Rufai declared.
The former governor insisted that the rise in violent attacks, especially in Kaduna, Katsina, and Zamfara, is directly tied to this rehabilitation model.
According to him, criminals who should be punished are instead being rewarded.
“My position has always been that the only repentant bandit is a dead one. Let’s bomb them until they are reduced to nothing.
Then maybe the five percent who truly want peace can be rehabilitated.
You don’t empower enemies with money. You don’t give them funds to buy sophisticated weapons,” El-Rufai stressed.
He accused the Tinubu government of deceiving Nigerians with claims that security is improving.
In his words, residents of affected states know the bitter truth.
“They can deceive, they can cover up, they can do propaganda. But those living in Katsina, Zamfara, and Kaduna know the reality.
When the time comes, we will reveal everything,” he warned.
However, the Office of the National Security Adviser swiftly dismissed El-Rufai’s allegations.
In a statement on Monday, the ONSA described his claims as false and misleading, stressing that the federal government has never paid ransom or allowances to criminals.
The sharp exchange highlights growing divisions over Tinubu’s security strategy.
While the government insists dialogue and rehabilitation can end the violence, critics like El-Rufai believe the approach rewards killers and prolongs bloodshed.
As banditry resurges in the North, Nigerians remain divided. Some demand harsher military crackdowns, while others support rehabilitation programs.
For now, El-Rufai’s fiery words have reopened a national debate over whether the government is truly fighting insecurity or quietly feeding it.
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