Datti Baba-Ahmed Explains Why El-Rufai Must Face Police Interrogation

Former Labour Party (LP) vice presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has urged authorities to take former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s claims that the Federal Government is paying bandits seriously.

El-Rufai, on Sunday, alleged that the Federal Government provides bandits with a “monthly allowance” and sends them “food in the name of non-kinetic operations.” Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, the ex-APC chieftain described the move as a “kiss-the-bandits” policy.

He said, “I will not pay bandits, give them monthly allowances, or send food to them under the guise of non-kinetic measures. It’s nonsense; we are empowering bandits. This is not just Kaduna State policy; it’s national, driven by the Office of the National Security Adviser. ‘Kiss the bandits’—that’s the new approach.”

Responding on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Baba-Ahmed called for El-Rufai to be questioned about his allegations.

“If the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) treats this lightly, then Nuhu Ribadu was never a policeman, is not a qualified lawyer, and should not hold that office,” he said, dismissing the NSA’s denial of El-Rufai’s claims.

When asked how he would have handled the situation if he were NSA, Baba-Ahmed added, “Nasir should be filing statements with the police and courts.”

While NSA Nuhu Ribadu has dismissed the claims as baseless, Baba-Ahmed downplayed the rebuttal, questioning, “Is this even a reaction? Do people understand the gravity of this statement?”

He emphasized, “A national policy is an official government position, made public, celebrated, and broadcast globally. If such a policy exists, it should be documented. Why did Nasir say it then?”