Former National Assembly legislator in the defunct 8th Senate, Shehu Sani, has criticised the ex-Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, for accusing the present government in the state of allegedly paying bandits N1 billion.

According to him, El-Rufai, whose eight years in office as governor in Kaduna State were known to have promoted the culture of appeasing terrorists and bandits, has no moral right to accuse and blackmail the Uba Sani administration over payment to bandits.
Senator Sani, also a human rights activist, said in a statement on Sunday, “The claim made by the former Kaduna State governor that the present Kaduna State government paid N1 billion to bandits is absolute rubbish from a man who founded the culture of appeasement to terrorists during his tenure.

“It’s on record that bandits were ex officio components of his (El-Rufai) administration. That was a manager who had openly told the world about his strategy of conditional cash transfers to bandits. He even jailed Mr Luka Biniyat of the Vanguard then, who exposed the deal.”
Pointing out that “under El-Rufai, bandits and terrorists operated freely like lords and kings,” he said that “El-Rufai should not make false claims of security and peace during his tenure when, under his watch, the Kaduna–Abuja train was attacked and passengers were kidnapped and killed.”

Sani further listed the attacks and killings under the former governor’s administration, stressing that “Greenfield University students were kidnapped and killed, Federal School of Forestry Mechanisation was attacked and students were killed and kidnapped, Bethel Baptist High School, Kujama, students were killed and kidnapped.”
He added, “Other places like the Nigerian Defence Academy, Airport Quarters, College of Education Gidan Waya, and Kaduna State Polytechnic were all attacked and students were kidnapped and killed.

“Under El-Rufai’s leadership, southern and central parts of Kaduna were slaughterhouses where bandits and terrorists operated unchallenged. It’s too early to forget that at a certain time, even Kaduna Airport was shut down. The same El-Rufai who pulled out his son from his Malali Capital School stint because of insecurity is today cunningly telling lies and concocting falsehoods for political reasons.

“If El-Rufai has any evidence of images or videos of cash given to bandits, he should avail the public of it.”
According to the former senator representing Kaduna Central, El-Rufai’s frustration is simply born out of envy for the success achieved by Senator Uba Sani in uniting the Christian South and Muslim North of Kaduna State.

“El-Rufai is a patented enabler of persecution. His reign was marked by religious and ethnic discrimination and divisiveness. El-Rufai’s eight years symbolised an era of torment, torture, and terror,” he added.
“It’s a fact that Kaduna State, like other states in the North, is facing its share of security challenges, but Governor Uba Sani has comparatively achieved a lot in building bridges across religious faiths and dismantling the infrastructure of banditry left behind by his predecessor.

“No sensible, sane, decent, dignified, and responsible man or woman in this country, conscious of history, will waste his time giving credence to the stream of lies that has become habitual in the life of a man in his mid-60s.”