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El-Rufai lists differences between IPOB, Bandits and Boko Haram

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3 years ago

July 3, 2021

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Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has said people should not confuse the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) with Bandits and Boko Haram operating in the Northeast because they have different objectives.

Speaking during an interview on BBC Pidgin at the weekend, El-Rufai argued that while IPOB has a central leader in Nnamdi Kanu who is calling for the breakup of Nigeria, Bandits and Boko Haram do not have such centralised leadership.

El-Rufai who expressed satisfaction with the re-arrest of Nnamdi Kanu for jumping bail and jeopardizing his sureties, challenged anyone to tell him the central leader of bandits in the same position as Kanu.”

“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.”

Furthermore, he said, “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 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 breakup 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 needing to break up.