Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State on Friday said there was no basis for the comparison between violent terror groups in the north and the re-arrested leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
The governor in obvious response to the allegation of preferential treatment on the part of the federal government for the armed northern groups as against the embattled IPOB leader said it was a case of ‘comparing apples to oranges’.
El-Rufai, speaking in an interview on Pidgin Service of the BBC, said Kanu’s case is different from that of Northern bandits because the IPOB leader “challenges the sovereignty and the authority of a state and incites violence; he refers to his own country as a zoo,” in contrast to the bandits who “are just collections of independent criminals. It is a business for them. It is not a case of Nigeria must break up.”
His words: “I was very happy (when Nnamdi Kanu was arrested) 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.
“No! No! No! No! People are comparing apples to oranges.
“Nnamdi Kanu is the leader of IPOB, a proscribed organisation. He is identifiable, costably 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.”