TheCable

Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, says the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) cannot be compared to bandits and Boko Haram insurgents.

The governor made the comment in reaction to the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of IPOB.

He said his arrest is a message to all separatists challenging the sovereignty of Nigeria.

According to Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), Kanu was on Sunday extradited to Nigeria to face trial after he jumped bail and fled the country in 2017.

The IPOB leader is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony instituted against him at the federal high court in Abuja.

Speaking with BBC pidgin on Friday, el-Rufai accused Kanu of inciting violence in the country as well as exposing his sureties to danger, hence, he should be made to face the law.

Asked to comment on how the federal government swiftly arrested Kanu while the reverse is the case for bandits and insurgents, el-Rufai said the situation differs and their operations cannot be compared.

“No! No! No! I think people are comparing apples to oranges. Nnamdi Kanu is the leader of IPOB, a proscribed organisation. He is identifiable, he is constantly in communication and everyone knows where he is,” he said.

“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 is in Saudi Arabia, sitting in one place, tweeting the break up of Nigeria or asking Boko Haram to go and kill Helen and Nasir el-Rufai. So, it’s a different thing.

“Nnamdi Kanu is identifiable, he is in a place while this one (Shekau) is leading a guerrilla war. The military has attempted to kill him more than four times and even announced his death. So it is not for lack of trying. The two situations are different. The Boko Haram war 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 equivanlent of Nnamdi Kanu with banditry?

“Bandits are just collections of independent criminals. It is a business for them. It is not like saying Nigeria must break up.

“But I want to challenge anyone to tell me who is the central leader of bandits in the same position as Kanu.”

He noted that the IPOB leader had “violated several Nigerian laws” and that the federal government did the right thing by following due processes and using “the Interpol red flag to bring him to justice”.

“I was very happy. I was very happy for two reasons; first, you know the man was on trial and he jumped bail. That in itself is a crime and no legal system should accept that,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter if it is Nnamdi Kanu or Nasir el-Rufai on bail. There are conditions to the bail; you have sureties. To jump bail, you’re jeopardising your sureties.

“Secondly, a person that challenges the sovereignty and the authority of a state and even incites violence; he refers to his own country, whose passport he carries to go to wherever he wants, as a zoo.

“I congratulate the federal government and I am pleased with this development and this should be a message to all these separatists challenging the authority of the Nigerian state to be very careful. The government may be patient and follow due process but in the end you will face justice.”