The Defence Headquarters on Tuesday dismissed allegations that the Nigerian Armed Forces were involved in making payments to bandits, insisting that such an approach had proven ineffective in addressing the country’s worsening insecurity.
The Chief of Defence Operations, Major General Emeka Onumajuru, speaking on Channels Television, stressed that the military was not part of any arrangement to fund criminal groups operating in northern Nigeria.
“The Armed Forces of Nigeria do not support the payment of money to criminal groups. We are not part of that arrangement,” he declared.
Onumajuru explained that rather than ransom or inducements, the military had been implementing a national Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) framework through Operation Safe Corridor in Gombe State for the North-East and a similar programme in Zamfara for the North-West.
According to him, the DDR initiative—run in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA)—offers repentant fighters a path out of criminality.
“The essence of this national framework is for bandits who clearly want another route to leave criminality.
They surrender their weapons, undergo detailed profiling, and those found culpable face the law. Others who were forcefully conscripted and cleared through profiling are admitted into DDR centres,” Onumajuru explained.
His remarks followed former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai’s claims that the Federal Government, through the ONSA, had been coordinating payments to bandits in several northern states.
In a statement posted on X late Monday, El-Rufai accused the government of “greasing the palms of non-state actors” in Kaduna, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, Niger, Kebbi, and other states.
He further alleged that videos and testimonies from traditional rulers and clerics had exposed the practice, describing official denials as “hollow.”
El-Rufai had earlier made similar allegations during a weekend television interview, insisting that ransom-style payments were a central government strategy in tackling insecurity.
But the ONSA swiftly rebutted his claims. In a statement signed by its spokesperson, Zakari Mijinyawa, the office described the accusations as baseless and politically motivated.
It noted that the current administration had consistently warned citizens against paying ransom and instead intensified military operations that led to the elimination of notorious warlords such as Boderi, Baleri, Sani Yellow Janburos, Buhari and Boka in Kaduna State.
The statement also highlighted recent arrests of Ansaru leaders, as well as sacrifices made by security personnel in flashpoints including Igabi, Birnin Gwari, and Giwa, as proof of the government’s commitment to restoring peace.
ONSA further urged political leaders to desist from dragging national security agencies into partisan disputes, stressing that combating terrorism and banditry should remain a collective effort rather than a political battleground.
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