BY LINUS CHIBUIKE
GOVERNOR Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State has said it is erroneous comparing Boko Haram terrorists and bandits with the Indigenous People of Biafra and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu.
He said while bandits were not centralised under one leadership, Kanu was identifiable, in constant communication, and everyone knew where he was.
El-Rufai spoke in an interview on BBC Pidgin on Friday morning, while responding to a question on why bandits and terrorists in the North were not being dealt with like agitators in the South.
On Kanu’s arrest, the Governor said, “I was very happy because, first he jumped bail, jeopardising his sureties. Secondly, a person that challenges the sovereignty and the authority of a state and incites violence; he refers to his own country as a zoo.
“This should be a message to all these separatists challenging the authority of the Nigerian State to be very careful.”
On Boko Haram and terrorists being compared with secessionists, he said, “No! No! No! People are comparing apples to oranges. Nnamdi Kanu is the leader of IPOB, a proscribed organisation. He is identifiable, in constant communication and everyone knows where he is.
“Let’s take Boko Haram for instance. Shekau was in hiding and for the past 10 years, the military had been waging a war to get him. It is not like Shekau was in Saudi Arabia, sitting in one place, tweeting about the break up of Nigeria or asking Boko Haram to go and kill Helen and Nasir el-Rufai.”
According to him, Nnamdi Kanu is in one place while Shekau is waging guerrilla warfare.
“The insurgency is still going on and the Federal Government is not giving up. Regarding bandits, they are not centralised under one leadership. Who is the head of the bandits? Who is the equivalent of Nmandi Kanu with banditry?” He asked.
“Bandits are just collections of independent criminals. It is a business for them. It is not a case of Nigeria must break up. I want to challenge anyone to tell me the central leader of bandits in the same position as Kanu,” El-Rufai said.
