On Monday, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai was charged by National Security Advisor (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu with disseminating misleading information.
On national television, Ribadu refuted El-Rufai’s assertion that the NSA orchestrated the ransom payment and provided incentives to the bandits.
An adviser in the Office of the National Security Adviser named Zakari Mijinyawa signed the statement.
El-Rufai’s assertion, according to the NSA, was at odds with facts that could be independently verified. The former governor’s claim was deemed unfounded in the statement..
According to the statement: “Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, made remarks in a television interview on Sunday that caught the attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).” He falsely claimed in that interview that the ONSA organizes a payment policy and provides incentives to bandits. This assertion is unfounded. No government agency under this administration, including the ONSA, has ever paid ransom or offered incentives to criminals.
In contrast to El-Rufai’s remark, the statement stated that ONSA cautions against paying the ransom.
“On the contrary, we have repeatedly cautioned Nigerians against paying ransom,” he continued. El-Rufai’s claims are not only untrue, but they also run counter to empirically supported facts.
About The Author
