El-Rufai’s Controversial Statement: Bandits To Be Paid For The Release Of 37 Kidnapped In Kaduna

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has criticized the federal government’s approach to combating banditry.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

El-Rufai made this statement on Wednesday in response to the recent abductions in Janjala, a community in Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State. Among the victims were the Wakilin Fulani of Janjala, Alhaji Atah Adamu Wakili, a nursing mother, and 37 other residents.

According to a source who spoke to Daily Trust, the bandits, dressed in army uniforms, attacked the community on Sunday. They went house-to-house, stealing livestock and abducting the villagers. The source added that by around 10 pm, it was confirmed that Wakili, his family, and other villagers were taken by the bandits. By the time troops from Kagarko arrived around 11:23 pm, the bandits had already fled, taking both their victims and the stolen cows.

In response to a tweet from an X user who expressed concern about the government’s inaction, El-Rufai suggested that the government would resort to paying the bandits for the victims’ release. On his own X account, he wrote: “Don’t worry, the bandits will be paid to release them soon, and then the NSA will hand over the victims to the state government in a colorful ceremony. Propaganda trumps sensible governance.

“The terrorists, empowered financially, will acquire even more advanced weapons and continue abducting people in Kaduna and beyond… this is the new ‘modus operandi’ under the current leadership.”