Member of House of Representatives representing Kaduna North federal constituency of Kaduna State, Bello El-Rufai, has questioned the inconsistency in the sentencing of convicted terrorists in Nigeria, calling for a more transparent and uniform justice system.
Speaking during a debate at the House plenary on Thursday, Bello cited the recent conviction of a Ansaru terrorist group member identified as Husseini Ismail, who was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja, and compared it with the life sentence handed to the leader of the outlawed IPOB, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, last week.
“There was a conviction recently of a terrorist, Boko Haram, I believe his name is Husseini Ismail. He was convicted for 20 years by a high court. He was a Boko Haram terrorist. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu was convicted, I think last week, and his own conviction was a life sentence,” Bello said.
“I don’t understand why one terrorist is getting 20 years and the other is getting a life sentence? I think Pastor (referring to an a fellow lawmaker) made a good point, there’s this idea that justice is served differently, and it affects the problem.”
The lawmaker, while commending President Bola Tinubu for unveiling a comprehensive national security overhaul, urged the National Assembly to ensure that the executive arm followed through with clear timelines and measurable execution plans.
“The president has rolled out a clear plan that we commend. Many of my colleagues have rightly spoken about this, and I agree. But our problem is not in making plans, it’s in executing them with clear timelines,” he stated.
“This parliament must insist upon those timelines based on the president’s recommendations.”
Bello, the son of the immediate-past governor Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, stressed the urgent need to improve the welfare and salaries of security personnel, noting that Nigeria was severely understaffed compared to global standards.
“One police officer manages 600 Nigerians. The UN recommends that the ratio should be 1 to 400. We are understaffed, the president has tackled that, that’s one point in terms of a short-term solution.
“But we must increase immediately the basic salaries and welfare of police officers and soldiers, and we must find the money to do that,” he said.
He also called for state and community policing, arguing that national security cannot be effectively managed from Abuja.
“We cannot be sitting in Abuja and expecting operations to be efficient in Benue. We have to go back to communal policing—when if a guest comes to a community, everybody knows him.
“We must get traditional leaders involved and go back to state policing. The fear that governors will abuse it always shocks me because they already have all that power,” he stated.
Bello further lamented the growing number of uneducated and unemployed youths in Northern Nigeria, saying the region has become a “breeding ground” for criminality and violent extremism.
“The North has an issue. We are not sending our children to school. Of late, you have bandits on TikTok holding money. Young people younger than myself have no employment and no skill because we have neglected them, it is a failure on all our parts over the years,” he said.
“Mr. Speaker, people go on TikTok and see a criminal holding minted cash, it’s suddenly exciting, you want to emulate him.”
He concluded by emphasising that the primary duty of government remains the protection of lives and property, warning that no amount of foreign or domestic investment can thrive without security.
“We can do whatever we want in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI), internally generated revenuem(IGR), or investments, but we are failing in our primary duty, which is to protect the people we serve,” he warned.
“Recruitment should not be by allocations, sir. Each state should provide the exact numbers needed, t should be digitised. We should look for young Nigerians that want to join the Army to serve, not because it’s just another job.”
