The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has tagged as “Baseless” the allegation by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai that the current administration has been paying ransom or offering inducements to criminals

In a statement issued on Monday, ONSA’s Director of Legal Services, Zakari Mijinyawa, said El-Rufai’s claims were “Not only false but also contradicted by verifiable facts on the ground.”

The statement added that neither ONSA nor any government agency under this current administration would engage in ransom payments or compensations to criminals.

It further clarified that the agency stands against ransom and consistently urges Nigerians to refrain from it.

The statement reads, “From inception, this government adopted a dual strategy: decisive kinetic operations alongside community engagements aimed at addressing local grievances.

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“The result is evident in areas such as Igabi, Birnin Gwari, Giwa, and other parts of Kaduna that once suffered untold terror in Kaduna state but are now experiencing relative peace”

The ONSA stressed that ongoing kinetic operations by the military and other security agencies have yielded significant results, including the capture and elimination of notorious bandits.

It added that while these gains have been widely reported, they have come at a heavy cost, with some gallant officers paying the supreme price.

The body further disclosed that Kaduna was plagued with notorious kingpins who terrorised residents, but a number of them have been eliminated, including Boderi, Baldrige, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari and Boka.

Recently, leaders of Ansaru who established bases in Kaduna were also apprehended.

The statement further read, “For a former governor of a state in the person of El-Rufai to deny these sacrifices on national television is both unfair and deeply insulting to the memories of our security personnel.”

ONSA warned El-Rufai and all political actors against defaming national security institutions and dragging them into partisan conflicts, emphasising that the fight against banditry is a “collective struggle, not a platform for political point-scoring.”