El-Rufai Questions Sentencing Gap Between Nnamdi Kanu and Boko Haram Leader Husseni

Hon. Bello El-Rufai, representing Kaduna North Federal Constituency in the 10th National Assembly, sparked debate in the Green Chamber on Thursday after comparing the recent life-sentence conviction of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu with the 20-year sentence handed to another convicted terrorist, Hussaini Isma’il.

He questioned why two terrorism-related cases resulted in drastically different outcomes, saying lawmakers must interrogate inconsistencies within the justice system.

Speaking during plenary, El-Rufai said the country’s security crisis demands urgency, not rhetoric. According to him, “It’s not about announcing plans, it’s executing them with clear timelines, and this parliament must insist on those timelines based on the President’s recommendations.”

He stressed that immediate reforms must focus on increasing the basic salary and welfare of police officers and soldiers.

Highlighting the country’s manpower gap, he noted that one police officer is responsible for up to 600 Nigerians, far from the UN’s recommended 1:400 ratio. He said the president has begun tackling this short-term issue, but warned that the National Assembly must track and enforce deadlines.

On medium-term reforms, El-Rufai renewed his call for the establishment of state police and deeper involvement of traditional rulers and community structures in security management. He dismissed fears of state-level abuse of policing powers, saying the scale of insecurity leaves no room for political hesitation.

El-Rufai also painted a troubling picture of conditions in the North, where out-of-school children and rising unemployment are fueling the appeal of criminality. “We have bandits on TikTok showing off money,” he said. “A young person who has been failed by the system will see that and want to emulate it.”

He argued that recruitment into the police and armed forces must be digitised, merit-based, and tailored to each state’s actual security needs not driven by political allocations. Only young Nigerians who genuinely want to serve, he said, should be enlisted.

El-Rufai insisted: “This is no time for election talk. We must tell the public the timeline to roll these reforms out. We have failed in our primary duty of protecting lives and this parliament must ensure that changes are executed, not just announced.”