ABUJA: The Vice-Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has taken a swipe at former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, insisting that he cannot absolve himself of responsibility in the worsening insecurity crisis.
Appearing on Politics Today on Channels Television, Baba-Ahmed faulted El-Rufai’s recent claim that the Federal and Kaduna State Governments were empowering bandits with payments running into billions.
He argued that insecurity had been politicised and orchestrated by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a party El-Rufai helped build.
El-Rufai cannot run away because he is part of it. From 2013, he was one of the architects of the APC. Suddenly, he wants to absolve himself. No. We are victims of Nasiru’s misrule in Zaria,” he said.
Visibly emotional, Baba-Ahmed accused the APC of using banditry as a political tool, stressing that the government’s alleged payments only emboldened criminal groups.
He criticised the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) for downplaying El-Rufai’s remarks, warning that if true, such a policy meant Nigeria no longer had a nation.
El-Rufai had sparked controversy on Sunday Politics by claiming that both federal and state authorities had paid bandits as much as ₦1 billion, describing the policy as “nonsense” that strengthened criminals.
He insisted that only decisive military force could end banditry, declaring: “The only repentant bandit is a dead one.
However, the Federal Government dismissed the allegations as “baseless.” ONSA maintained that no ransom or inducements had ever been paid to armed groups, stressing instead that security agencies had recorded gains through military operations and community engagement.
The Armed Forces also refuted El-Rufai’s claims. Chief of Defence Operations, General Emeka Onumajuru, explained that Operation Safe Corridor was designed for disarmament and reintegration, not ransom payments.
Similarly, the Kaduna State Government described El-Rufai’s remarks as “malicious lies” aimed at undermining security efforts after his allies lost recent by-elections.
Despite the pushback, El-Rufai doubled down in a social media post, alleging illicit financial flows and linking suspicious Abuja real estate purchases to security corruption. He further accused ONSA and the Kaduna Government of politicising national security.
The clash has deepened Nigeria’s debate over insecurity, raising sharp questions about governance, accountability, and the line between politics and national safety.
