Ribadu denies accusing Buhari, El-Rufai as bandits sponsors

A former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has denied claims that he accused President Muhammadu Buhari, and Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, as the chief sponsors of bandits in the North.

Ribadu, the presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) said on Thursday in a statement he personally signed that security agencies should investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.

“Around mid last year a brainless message purportedly emanating from me started circulating. The statement shared around social media platforms attributed to me devilish insinuations on alleged origin of banditry in parts of Nigeria.

“I initially ignored what was clear inanity and cheap blackmail as I thought no right-thinking person will fall for such mischief.

However, when it persisted, on July 17, 2019, I issued a disclaimer on my Twitter handle to disown the viral message.

“But to my chagrin, over six months after the initial rebuttal, the manufacturers of the hateful message and their co-travellers, those who peddle whatever is capable of creating disaffection are back at it. For the avoidance of doubt, I never wrote or said those words being attributed to me. I have no knowledge of the details contained in the disjointed propaganda message in circulation and I urge the public to disregard it,” Ribadu said.

While urging the concerned security agencies to investigate the genesis of the fake message and fish out the perpetrators, the former EFCC boss said that purveyors of fake news, more so one that is clearly a threat to national security should not be allowed to thrive.