Labour Party (LP) chieftain and 2023 vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has called for former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, to be questioned over his recent allegations that the Federal Government is paying allowances and providing food to bandits.
Speaking on Politics Today on Channels Television, Baba-Ahmed said such claims must not be dismissed lightly, insisting that El-Rufai should be made to give statements to law enforcement.
“If the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) treats this with levity, then Nuhu Ribadu has no business in that office,” he said, faulting the NSA’s dismissal of the allegations as baseless.
El-Rufai, during an interview on Sunday Politics, had accused the Federal Government and Kaduna State of adopting what he described as a “kiss-the-bandits policy,” claiming that insurgents were receiving monthly stipends and food under a so-called non-kinetic strategy.
While both the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Kaduna State Government have denied the allegations, Baba-Ahmed insisted that the gravity of El-Rufai’s statement cannot be brushed aside.
“A national policy is a formal declaration of government’s direction. If such exists, it must have been debated, announced, and defended publicly. Why then did Nasir say this?” he asked.
The controversy has continued to stir debate, with many Nigerians demanding clarity on the government’s approach to insecurity.
