Boko Haram, bandits should be treated differently – El-Rufai

Tayo AFOLABI

Boko Haram terrorists, and  Bandits should not be treated with the same swiftness applied to leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai opined while speaking with BBC Pidgin on Friday, noting that bandits are not calling for the breakup of Nigeria.

El-Rufai stated that the way bandits and Boko Haram terrorists operate is different from the way Nnamdi Kanu’s led IPOB operates.

He also said bandits don’t have a centralized leadership like the IPOB which is under the command of Nnamdi 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.”