The special Adviser to President on Public Communications and Orientation, Sunday Dare, has stated that there is no justification for placing and , popularly known as Sunday Igboho, in the same category.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Dare rejected claims suggesting both men should be assessed alike, stressing that their actions, approaches and outcomes are markedly different. He explained that Kanu’s (IPOB) was linked to activities described as insurrection and direct clashes with the Nigerian state.
According to him, this reportedly involved the enforcement of sit-at-home directives across parts of the South-East, which he said resulted in numerous deaths, alongside attacks on security personnel and public facilities.
Kanu, recently convicted on terrorism charges by a Federal High Court in Abuja, was accused of participating in insurrection and armed confrontation with the state — actions the government maintains caused significant violence, fatalities and economic setbacks in sections of the South-East.
By contrast, the presidential aide noted that Igboho’s campaign has largely centred on security issues in the South-West, particularly claims of killings, kidnappings and destruction of farmlands by suspected criminal elements. He added that Igboho’s push for a Yoruba nation has mainly focused on self-determination and did not involve forming an armed group aimed at the Nigerian military or security agencies.
“The contexts, methods and consequences are fundamentally different,” Dare said, calling on the public to refrain from equating the two figures in national conversations.