President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the military to deal ruthlessly with terrorists, asking them not to spare anyone unlawfully wielding AK-47 rifle.
He also directed the immediate conclusion of all the processes for the implementation of the integrated security surveillance and monitoring solution for the Abuja to Kaduna rail line, saying that it should be extended to cover the Lagos-Ibadan rail line.
Buhari gave these directives after receiving briefs from the service chiefs, led by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, with the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Farouk Yahaya; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Isiaka Amao; Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, as well as Major General Samuel Adebayo, the Chief of Defence Intelligence; and the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi, at the State House.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday titled, ‘Kaduna train attack: President Buhari directs immediate implementation of security solution; condemns incident’.
According to the statement, the President “also directed the Nigerian Railway Corporation management to speedily repair the damaged lines and resume normal service without delay.”
“He charged the law enforcement chiefs to bring back all passengers kidnapped and ensure that each of the callous terrorists are hunted down and made to face justice for their heinous acts as no one or group should be allowed to make the country prostrate,” Shehu stated.
Buhari reiterated his earlier directive that the military should deal ruthlessly with terrorists, asking it to be more decisive and not spare anyone unlawfully wielding AK-47.
Meanwhile, at least eight out of the 398 passengers, who boarded the ill-fated Kaduna-bound train from Abuja around 6pm on Monday, have been confirmed dead by the federal and state governments, while 28 are currently hospitalised and several others still unaccounted for.
The Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, who confirmed the figures, also disclosed that from the manifest received from the Nigerian Railway Corporation, 398 passengers bought tickets, but 362 were validated.
Aruwan said the passengers’ manifest excluded the NRC workers and security officials on board the train, adding that several passengers could not be accounted for.
The commissioner stated that investigations were still ongoing to ascertain the status of the passengers who were on board the train and remain unaccounted for as of the time of filing this report.
Aruwan said, “The Kaduna State Government has received from the NRC the detailed passenger manifest for the Abuja-Kaduna train service AK9, which was attacked by terrorists on Monday.
“According to the documents received, 398 passengers bought tickets for the trip, but 362 were validated as having boarded the train through the recognised turnstile. The passenger manifest does not include NRC staff and security officials, who were on board.
“Furthermore, security agencies have reported that eight bodies were recovered and 26 persons were injured during the attack. Investigations are still ongoing to ascertain the status of the passengers, who were on board the train and remain unaccounted for at the time of this update. Search operations are also being sustained.”
Among the dead was a dentist, Chinelo Megafu-Nwando, who was said to have recently resigned from her job and was planning to migrate to another country.
