Kaduna North Rep, Bello El-Rufai Questions Why Boko Haram Terrorist Got 20 Years While IPOB Leader Nnamdi Kanu Received Life Imprisonment
Hon. Muhammad Bello El-Rufai, member representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency, has condemned what he described as glaring injustice in Nigeria’s judicial handling of terrorism-related cases.
Speaking during plenary on Thursday, he questioned why a convicted Boko Haram member was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while IPOB leader Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was handed a life sentence just a week earlier.
El-Rufai was referring to the recent conviction of Hussaini Ismail, a Boko Haram member sentenced by a High Court to 20 years imprisonment. The lawmaker said the sharp contrast between the two cases raises serious concerns about equity, consistency, and the public perception of justice in Nigeria.
“I don’t understand why one terrorist gets 20 years and the other gets life. There is this idea that justice is applied differently, and this inconsistency worsens our security problem,” he said, aligning with concerns earlier raised by fellow legislators.
The Kaduna lawmaker warned that such sentencing disparities could further complicate Nigeria’s fragile security environment, feeding public distrust and reinforcing claims of selective justice across regions and groups.
Backing President Bola Tinubu’s newly announced security blueprint, El-Rufai emphasized that strong execution, rather than announcements remains the country’s major challenge. He also urged the National Assembly to insist on clear timelines for all security reforms.
El-Rufai called for urgent improvements in the welfare of police officers and soldiers, lamenting Nigeria’s dangerously low policing ratio.
“One police officer is managing 600 Nigerians, against the UN recommendation of 1 to 400. We must find the money to fix this,” he said.
Reiterating his long-standing advocacy for decentralised policing, he insisted that Abuja cannot effectively manage security operations nationwide. He urged constitutional reforms to establish state police and involve traditional leaders in community-level security.
The lawmaker also warned that the North has failed its youth, leaving them uneducated, unemployed, and vulnerable to criminal recruitment.
“We are not sending our children to school. No skills, no jobs. That’s why young people are easily radicalised,” he said.
He criticised viral videos of bandits flaunting cash and weapons online, saying such content glamorises crime and attracts idle youths.
Concluding his remarks, El-Rufai accused Nigeria’s political class of failing in its most basic duty: protecting citizens. He urged transparent, digitised recruitment into security agencies and insisted that only competent young Nigerians should be enlisted.
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