Former Nigerian Senator Shehu Sani has launched a scathing response to ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai's allegation that the current Kaduna State government paid bandits one billion naira. The human rights activist described El-Rufai's claim as "absolute rubbish" from a man who he says established the culture of terrorist appeasement during his own administration.
El-Rufai's History of Bandit Appeasement Exposed
In a strongly worded statement released on Sunday, Senator Sani reminded the public that El-Rufai's eight-year tenure as Kaduna governor was marked by systematic appeasement of terrorists and bandits. According to Sani, bandits effectively became "ex officio components of his administration" during this period.
The former senator highlighted that El-Rufai had publicly admitted to implementing a strategy of conditional cash transfers to bandits. Sani also recalled how journalist Luka Biniyat of Vanguard newspaper was jailed for exposing the deals between El-Rufai's government and bandits.
Catalog of Security Failures Under El-Rufai
Shehu Sani provided a devastating list of security breaches that occurred during El-Rufai's leadership, painting a picture of a state under siege:
- Kaduna-Abuja train attack with passengers kidnapped and killed
- Greenfield University students kidnapped and murdered
- Federal School of Forestry Mechanisation attack with students abducted and killed
- Bethel Baptist High School, Kujama students kidnapped and killed
- Attacks on Nigerian Defence Academy, Airport Quarters, College of Education Gidan Waya, and Kaduna State Polytechnic
Sani emphasized that "under El-Rufai, bandits and terrorists operated freely like lords and kings" across Kaduna State. He particularly noted that southern and central parts of the state became "slaughterhouses where bandits and terrorists operated unchallenged."
Political Motivation Behind False Claims
According to the former Kaduna Central senator, El-Rufai's frustration stems from envy over Governor Uba Sani's success in uniting Christian South and Muslim North of Kaduna State. Sani accused the former governor of being a "patented enabler of persecution" whose reign was characterized by religious and ethnic discrimination.
"El-Rufai's eight years symbolised an era of torment, torture, and terror," Sani declared in his statement. He challenged El-Rufai to provide any evidence of his claims, saying "if El-Rufai has any evidence of images or videos of cash given to bandits, he should avail the public of it."
While acknowledging that Kaduna State still faces security challenges like other northern states, Sani maintained that Governor Uba Sani has made significant progress in building interfaith bridges and dismantling the infrastructure of banditry inherited from his predecessor.
