- UpThe former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has lashed out at the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, accusing them of diverting attention from the real issues of insecurity in Northern Nigeria.
The clash follows El-Rufai’s recent television interview where he alleged that both the Office of the NSA (ONSA) and the Kaduna State Government (KDSG) were secretly paying ransom to bandits while misleading Nigerians about progress in the fight against terrorism.
While the NSA and the state government denied the claims—dismissing them as “politicization of national security”—El-Rufai doubled down, saying Nigerians were not deceived.
“Instead of responding to the core issues, they deflect responsibility by alleging politicization. The ONSA under its present leadership has become the face of politicized security,” El-Rufai declared.
Citing videos and testimonies from traditional rulers, community leaders, and clerics, he insisted that ransom payments to bandits in Kaduna, Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, and Niger States were common knowledge.
The former governor accused Ribadu and Uba Sani of prioritizing public relations over intelligence coordination, adding that their actions endangered communities across the North.
He also condemned alleged state-backed harassment of opposition figures, pointing to violence at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) meeting in Kaduna on August 30.
“Insecurity is the menace they ought to eliminate, not opposition voices and platforms,” El-Rufai said.T
he heated exchange underscores growing tensions between El-Rufai and his former allies, signaling a deepening political rift in Northern Nigeria’s security discourse.
