Former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani, has accused northern political elites of hypocrisy and double standards in their reactions to the country’s worsening insecurity.
Speaking in Kaduna on Tuesday during a visit by leaders of the Open Heart Foundation and Women Empowerment Centre, Sani said many northern leaders stayed silent throughout the eight-year administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari but suddenly found their voices now that President Bola Tinubu is in power.
He warned that the North cannot defeat banditry and terrorism “with a divided house,” urging leaders to stop celebrating the killing of soldiers or using the blood of victims to pursue political goals ahead of the 2027 elections.
On El-Rufai’s Claim of N1bn Payment to Bandits
Sani dismissed former Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s allegation that the Uba Sani administration paid ₦1 billion to bandits, describing the claim as “false and ridiculous.”
He accused El-Rufai of being “the architect and engineer” of cash payments to bandits, noting that the former governor once publicly admitted to engaging in conditional cash transfers to terrorists — a revelation that, according to him, led to the arrest of journalist Luka Biniyat.
Sani recounted Kaduna’s security tragedies between 2015 and 2023 under El-Rufai, including the:
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Kaduna–Abuja train attack
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Greenfield University abductions
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Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation kidnapping
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Bethel Baptist High School abductions
He challenged El-Rufai to present evidence if he truly possessed images or videos of cash being handed to bandits under the current administration.
Sani: Tinubu Performing Better on Security
The former lawmaker argued that despite persistent challenges, President Tinubu has performed better on security than Buhari, stressing that key security positions — including Defence Minister, Minister of State for Defence and National Security Adviser — are currently held by northerners.
North Must Solve Its Own Problems
Sani urged northern governors and traditional rulers to convene an emergency summit on insecurity, the almajiri system, out-of-school children, and poverty.
He emphasised that terrorists in the North-East and bandits in the North-West are “sons of the soil,” not foreign invaders, warning that the region of over 120 million people should not be held hostage by a few thousand criminals.
He dismissed expectations of foreign military intervention, saying the solution lies in equipping the Nigerian military and uniting Muslims and Christians to confront a common enemy.
Sani also linked the resurgence of attacks to political desperation ahead of 2027, warning politicians to seek power through ballots, not bloodshed.
