Again, Terrorists Strike in Zaria as El-Rufai Insists There’s Enough Intelligence to Prevent Attacks via thisdaylive
•Hints security agencies have their phone numbers and listen in on their conversations•Declares he’s angry, frustrated and feels totally helplessChuks Okocha, Olawale Ajimotokan, Kingsley Nwezeh, Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Udora Orizu in Abuja, Emma Okonji, Nosa Alekhuogie in Lagos, John Shiklam and Kasim Sumaina in Kaduna
But the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who visited some of the victims at the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital, Kaduna, has disclosed that the government might resort to using the Airforce to escort the trains, pending when the approval for the security detection devices pulled through. One of the sources, who confirmed the development, said the terrorists invaded the community at about 10pm yesterday, even though he could not give details of what happened.
“I cannot confirm it because I have not received any report on the incident, but I will contact our men in the area and find out,” he said. Continuing, the outspoken governor explained that, “Before, they were categorised as bandits if you bombed them, you will have issues with human rights organisations and international criminal courts and so on.
“We are in a state of war. This place should be declared a war zone. The army, the Airforce, the police should go in there and kill them.“We have written to the Nigerian Railways Corporation twice to stop the evening service. The last train from Kaduna to Abuja should leave by 4pm, so it will get to Abuja in daylight.
“But even if we didn’t install, yet, we have spoken with the management of the Nigerian Airforce to escort the trains. They were previously escorting the trains but recently, the weather has been very bad and visibility dropped to below 500 meters so they couldn’t fly. So, they have not being flying with us and it’s why the latest attack was successful.”
Amaechi, while at the Nigeria Army Reference Hospital, said, “We are grateful to the Army. The CMD and I have been talking. The Army hasn’t charged a dime on any patient, not one naira and they have given the maximum medical care you can give to any patient. Chief Medical Director , of the hospital, Col. Stephen Onochukwu, said, “The situation is that the patients we received from the incidents are all stable. We had 25 of them that where admitted. We discharged some of them that are stable, but we are still following them up.“We deployed our contingency resources to manage the situation. There are no challenges. There is none of the cases that is beyond us, because we also have collaboration with the teaching hospitals so far.
“We have seen too many attacks in too many communities across the country. We have lost far too many lives to still be at this point —commiserating daily with one family, one community, or the other. We need real solutions. “Three, we must adopt 21st-century solutions to our present-day problems. We must make better use of technology to track the activities of these terrorists. We must equip our security operatives with the modern tools and equipment that they need to keep us all safe and prevent such attacks in the future.
The NGF, in a statement by its chairman and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, said, “This is one attack too many. It must stop. First, as leaders, we owe the victims and their relations an apology” “We recognise the enormous risk you take every day. The cowards behind this will certainly not take over our country. Their violent demeanour will not result in anything positive, instead, it will confine them to an uncomfortable life in the jungle until the long arm of the law catches up with them,” Fayemi said.
He, therefore, urged the security agencies to spare no effort in rescuing any of the passengers of the ill-fated train that were still being held by the criminals.The Nigerian Military, has blamed the social media for escalating misinformation about the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train a few days ago.
He, therefore, condemned the attack and called for the intensification of efforts to make sure the perpetrators were apprehended and victims rescued. On the response time it took for help to get to the attack scene, the retired General hailed the security forces particularly, the military, stating that the Abuja-Kano highway, which was under re-construction caused the delay and should be taken into cognisance.
Going forward, Okhiria explained that security couldn’t be embedded in the NRC alone as certain approvals needed to be gotten, noting that, Drones couldn’t be flown without getting relevant approval and licenses needed to be acquired. It said the drones would assist the police in monitoring active crime scenes, coordinating response operations and providing aerial support to responding officers.
“The command, therefore, wishes to categorically refute this erroneous and misleading news, stating emphatically that it is baseless, unfounded and designed to instill fear and apprehension in the minds of the residents and the good people of the territory as a whole. The lawmakers, had at its Tuesday plenary, invited the above named government officials and other relevant heads of agencies like the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency , Department of Security Services , Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority , Managing Railway Corporation and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria .
“So, we cannot proceed and I am saying with a heavy heart that no matter the assignment that our generals are handling, I believe the parliament requires a listening ear. This is the House of the people. I am saddened, I am not happy. “Please do not use the name of the president. Please, excuse do not use the name of the president. If he is out of the country, he is out of the country. This institution is not under the presidency. It is an institution of its own,” Wase said.
He thereafter asked the representatives to go back, and ruled that the meeting should be rescheduled to Thursday 3pm.The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and the Kaduna State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria , have called on the federal government to find a lasting solution to the mindless killings and destructions by terrorists in the country, especially in the north, saying government must flush out the terrorists of the Kaduna train attack.
The NIPR, however, expressed sympathy with Nigerians “over the callous attack on the Kaduna-Abuja train.” “The earlier attack on the same route, which occurred in October last year ought to have served as a wake up call for the system to be more proactive to forestall what was a not so unexpected occurrence, given the seeming over reliance of commuters on the train service as a safer alternative to plying the Abuja-Kaduna road.
The CAN Chairman said, the train attack, has “further amplified the vulnerability of Kaduna people and everyone who does business in the state, due to the rise in banditry and terrorism. The association, therefore, appealed to the security agencies to employ innovative professional strategies for dealing with the situation and repudiate any political interference in security matters.
“We shall all miss his contributions. Ozigi’s self-effacing personality often belied his depth of thought and ideas. His seminal contributions to discussions on labour issues, no doubt, earned him a place in over two decades of service to unionism starting from the Construction and Civil Engineering Senior Staff Association, where he was Secretary General to joining the Congress in 2012.”