El-Rufai: Why we can’t compare Nnamdi Kanu with Shekau

After the arrest of Kanu, some critics of the Federal Government alleged that the Buhari administration was pampering bandits.

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said bandits or Boko Haram terrorists cannot be compared with Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

After the arrest of Kanu, some critics of the Federal Government alleged that the Buhari administration was pampering bandits.

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They also demanded that the Federal Government arrest bandits promptly.

But in an interview with BBC Pidgin, El-Rufai said it is wrong to compare bandits with Kanu.

Asked if Boko Haram and bandits should be treated with the same swiftness that led to Kanu’s arrest, El-Rufai said, “No! 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 and 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.

“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?

“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.”