The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has accused the Nigerian government of double standards after Bashir El-Rufai, son of former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, openly declared that he does not believe in “One Nigeria.”
In a press release issued by IPOB spokesperson, Emma Powerful, the group argued that Bashir’s comments vindicate its detained leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, who has remained in custody since 2021 for advocating regional autonomy and questioning Nigeria’s unity.
IPOB said Kanu was abducted, tortured, and extradited from Kenya to Nigeria before being charged with terrorism for expressing similar views. The group noted that El-Rufai’s son, however, faces no arrest or harassment despite making the same statement, which it described as clear proof of ethnic bias.
“The hypocrisy of Nigeria is exposed when a Fulani man can say what Nnamdi Kanu said without consequence, while Kanu, an Igbo, is persecuted,” the statement read.
The pro-Biafra group further alleged that Nigeria’s judiciary has aided this injustice, citing the Supreme Court’s reversal of the Court of Appeal ruling that discharged Kanu. IPOB insisted that such selective application of justice shows that Nigeria is “a failed project built on lies and oppression.”
Calling “One Nigeria” a fraud, IPOB urged the international community to recognise what it called the irredeemable contradictions of the Nigerian state, stressing that there can be no genuine unity without justice and equality.
