El-Rufai on train attack: I feel helpless… military should bomb bandits’ hideouts

Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna state, says the military should bomb bandits’ hideouts, instead of waiting for them to attack.

According to the Punch, the governor said this on Wednesday while addressing journalists when Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, visited the state to assess the situation following the Abuja-Kaduna train attack.

The train was ambushed by gunmen on Monday night while it was a few minutes away from the Kaduna station. At least eight persons were reported to have been killed, while several persons were injured and abducted.

Speaking on Wednesday, el-Rufai said the camps and phone numbers of the terrorists were known by the military agencies, adding that the army should go after them and wipe them out.

“We have enough intelligence for us to take action. The air force undertakes enough ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), and the DSS has informants all over the place,” he said.

“We know what they (terrorists) are planning. We get the reports. The problem is for the agencies to take action. Don’t wait until they attack before you respond. The army should go after their enclaves to wipe them out. Let the air force bomb them.

“Before, they were categorised as bandits and if you bombed them, you would have issues with human rights organisations and international criminal courts and so on. But, now that they have been declared terrorists by the court, they can be legally killed without any consequences from international human rights organisations.

“We know where their camps are, we know where they are; the SSS have their phone numbers, they listen to them, and they give me the report. We know what they are planning. We shouldn’t be waiting for them to attack; why can’t we go after them?

“We are in a state of war; this place should be declared a warzone. The army, air force, and the police should go in there and kill them. Will there be innocent casualties? Yes! In every war situation, there are casualties.

“We have written to the Nigerian Railway Corporation twice to stop the evening service. The last train from Kaduna to Abuja should leave by 4pm so that it will get to Abuja in daylight. We were lucky the military response was just within an hour, because it was dead in the night.

“I’m angry, frustrated and feel totally helpless. Let us establish military bases within Katari and Rijana.”