Shock as terrorists promise to abduct Buhari, el-Rufai - Nexus News

Irritated by The Federal Government’s inability to meet their requests, terrorists who abducted the Kaduna-Abuja train passengers on March 28, 2022, have promised to kidnap President Muhammadu Buhari and governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai if their demands are not met.

The gunmen, alleged to be members of Ansaru, also said that they would kidnap other top Nigerians, as well as cause chao in the country.

These were revealed in a new video the group aired yesterday. The viral video displayed the terrorists flogging the remaining male passengers of the ill-fated train attack, while female passengers were ordered to line in front of the male passengers.

The closely three minutes video revealed a bearded passenger, who was ordered to speak on their behalf, stating that the terrorists informed them that they did not intend to keep them as hostage for more than a week, but for government’s unconcerned attitude. He, therefore, called on the international community and the United Nations (UN) to rescue them since the government has ceased to ensure their freedom.

Also, in the background, an elderly woman, about 85 years old, was heard cursing the Federal Government in Hausa, saying, “Allah ya isa” (meaning We leave you with God). She bewailed that they voted for the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Buhari with the believe that the North and the entire country would be safe, but it was all in vain.

The terrorists threatened to kill and sell off some of the remaining train passengers abducted.

“This is our message to the government of Nigeria and just as you have seen these people here, by God’s grace, you will see your leaders; your senators and governors will come before us. These ones you are seeing here, we will keep some as our slaves and sell them off just as our Imam told you in the past.

“Just like the Chibok girls that were sold off, we will equally sell these ones as slaves. If you don’t adhere to our demands, we will kill the ones we need to kill and sell the remaining. By God’s grace, El-Rufai, Buhari, we will bring you here.”

ONE of the Boko Haram members who flee from the Kuje correctional facility in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was seen in the latest video of hostages of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack.

The escapee, who did not disclose his name was one of the three terrorists who posed on camera in the new video berating the government and the victims of the train attack. The man also threatened to kidnap el-Rufai.

“Let the government know I am one of the Kuje prison escapees. I am here, God has rescued me, I am now once again bearing arms. We are going to destroy this country, come and follow us, we will not change our stands. (sic)

“We are going to bring (kidnap) governor el-Rufai into this forest and belittle him the way we do to these people (victims of the train attack).

“You people know me, you declared me wanted to the world. Me too, I have declared you (government officials) wanted, I will kill you,” the terrorist who was carrying an assault weapon said.

The presidency, which portrayed the “latest version of terror” in the country as a scheme instill fear in the citizens and force governments to succumb to their demands, however, promised of the military’s capacity to overpower any untoward activities, saying, restraints by the armed forces is to avert collateral damage to the innocent.

“The country’s security and defense forces are not clueless or helpless. They have their plans and ways of doing things, which they will not display in the media.

“It suffices to say that the security forces are not relenting. They are acutely aware of their duties, responsibilities and what the nation expects of them. Whenever they embark upon those actions, they expect that the public should provide them with the needed support,” the presidency said.

Continuing, it said: “The dilemmas in dealing with the specific case of train terrorists are manifold: punitive action like the popular call for carpet bombing of the known locations may assuage the desire of an angry public for revenge, but what about the hostages? They have committed no offense. All they did was to board a train.”

The presidency in a statement signed by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, added that “Terrorism is a global scourge that must be fought by all actors – the military, civilian population and the communication service providers. This is the only way safe havens of terrorists are eliminated in every part of the world.

“To help the nation against ongoing situation, the media must increase their support for the fight against the exploitation of the internet and social media for terrorist purposes.

“The presidency, in the meantime, wishes to reassure the public that the President has done all, and even more than what is expected of him as Commander-in-Chief by way of morale, material and equipment support to the military and expects nothing short of good results in the immediate,” the statement said.