Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai says he was happy when he heard about the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) had on Tuesday announced that Kanu was intercepted by operatives of Nigeria’s security intelligence on Sunday.
Speaking in an interview on BBC Pidgin, El-Rufai said Boko Haram terrorists and bandits are different from the IPOB because they don’t have a recognised and centralised leadership.
He said Kanu is a visible and central leader, based abroad and calling for the dissolution of the country.
The governor said, “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.”
Asked about handling Boko Haram and bandits with the same swiftness, he said, “No! No! No! No! People are comparing apples to oranges. Nnamdi Kanu is the leader of IPOB, a proscribed organisation. He is identifiable, constantly 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 Nnamdi 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.”