The Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has disclosed that gunmen that attacked an Abuja-Kaduna train on Monday have contacted families of kidnap victims but have yet to make ransom demands.
He made the disclosure on Friday in a chat with the media shortly after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on insecurity in the state.
Recall that the Kaduna-bound train, which left Abuja at 6 p.m. on Monday, was attacked by suspected terrorists at about 7.45 p.m., just about 15 minutes’ drive before Kaduna.
Eight persons have been officially confirmed dead, 46 hospitalised and several others kidnapped following the attack.
El-Rufai said, “Well, the families of those kidnapped have been contacted while some of the captives themselves have called their loved ones, saying they are doing well and they are being taken care of. But the gunmen have not shown any sign of collecting ransom,” he said.
El-Rufa’i, who spoke in Hausa language, disclosed that the attack on the train was carried out by Boko Haram insurgents in collaboration with some bandits operating in Kaduna, Zamfara, Niger, Sokoto and Kebbi States.
Read Also: 2023: “If politics is a dirty game, Christians must participate to change it” – Catholic Church
According to him, security agencies have been making frantic efforts to rescue victims of from the hands of their abductors.
He disclosed that the president had reassured him that drastic measures were being taken to check the activities of terrorists and bandits in the state and beyond.
“The President assured me that necessary steps would be taken on the matter and this thing will be brought to an end in few months, and security agents are already carrying out surveillance around where these criminals are and, by the grace of God, they will be rounded up.
“But as you know, the government will always take precautionary measures to safeguard the lives of citizens, therefore, except the victims are rescued unhurt, the airforce and ground troops will not be able to confront the criminals. So to avoid any colossal damage, the captives have to be freed first,” he said.
El-Rufai emphasised that the gunmen were not kidnappers but members of the Boko Haram terrorist group working in collaboration with bandits.
“These ones are not the usual kidnappers but members of Boko who are collaborating with bandits.
“So we were thinking they will ask for a huge ransom form the state government, not the families of their victims.
“So far, they have asked for ransom from just one of the families that were contacted.
“As far as the Kaduna state government is concerned, we have not changed our stand on payment of ransom, so, even if they seek for that from us, we will not pay because we are not ready to do so,” he maintained.
The Kaduna governor revealed that the state government had received intelligence report that the gunmen were going to strike on the rail line and had intimated the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) on the matter, but no action was taken.
“We think this thing happened because we have written twice to the NRC, advising that trains on the Kaduna route should not embark on night trips because we have reports that Boko Haram were in town and they plan to attack the train at night using explosive devices,” he said.
El-Rufai stressed the need for massive bombing of all bandit-infected enclaves including forest areas in the North West and North Central parts of the country.