The 2023 Labour Party vice-presidential candidate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has called for a thorough investigation into allegations made by former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, that the Federal Government was paying bandits.
Baba-Ahmed made his position clear during an appearance on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on Tuesday.
He strongly criticized the response from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, which had earlier dismissed El-Rufai’s claims.
In his words:
“If the so-called office of the National Security Adviser would take this statement with levity, then Nuhu Ribadu was never a policeman; he is not a qualified lawyer; he should not be in that office.”
The Labour Party chieftain insisted that such a weighty allegation should not be ignored, stressing that El-Rufai ought to be making statements to the police and possibly answering questions in court.
This comes after El-Rufai alleged that both the Federal Government and Kaduna State had been paying monthly allowances and even delivering food supplies to bandits—measures he described as part of a “kiss-the-bandits policy.”
Baba-Ahmed’s reaction has once again fueled public debate over Nigeria’s security approach and whether or not authorities are doing enough to ensure transparency in counter-terrorism operations.
