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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Okwe Obi, Adanna Nnamani, Abuja, Paul Osuyi, Asaba, Adewale Sanyaolu, Chukwudi Nweje and Jeff Amechi Agbodo, Onitsha
Governors of the 36 states of the federation under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) have condemned the Kaduna-Abuja train attack on Monday night, describing it as “a horror dream orchestrated by wicked merchants of death that we must all wake up from to address.”
This is as the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari observed a minute silence in honour of the victims.
Governors, in a statement by the chairman and Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, said Nigerians deserve an apology from leaders over the frequent attacks, stressing that the attacks basically question their collective capacity to govern.
“This is one attack too many. It must stop. First, as leaders, we owe the victims and their relations an apology as these unwarranted acts of violence are becoming too regular and they basically question our collective capacity to govern.
“God will grant those that lost their lives eternal peace and a place in the deepest recesses of heaven. We wish those that were injured speedy recovery to resume their lives and put their heartless aggressors to shame.”
The governors declared that if the intention of the murderers is to disrupt the peaceful coexistence of Nigerians, they would not succeed and when eventually total peace returns to the country, they would either be lifeless or excluded.
“I can assure you that this is an ugly phase in our national experience. It will certainly pass. While expressing our sincere condolences to Nigerians particularly the government and good people of Kaduna State, we want to salute the bravery of our security forces in curtailing the magnitude of havoc this attack was intended to visit on innocent travelers. Our prayers are with you.
“We would continue to drum our support for the professional work you do and provide assistance in enhancing your operational strength and combat readiness. We recognize 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.
“On a final note, the NGF will want to call on the authorities to immediately install all necessary safeguards to forestall future acts of banditry on our rail tracks, roads, ports and borders.
“We need not remind those concerned that these constitute a major backbone to our national assets.
“We need to improve on security intelligence and ability to act on intelligence gathered. In general, we need to give comfort to all our citizens, residents and investors that the security of lives and property can be taken for granted. And that there is a Government that is clearly in charge of what needs to be done.”
•Group gives Buhari 3 days to sack officers or face protest
A pro-democracy and human rights group, NIgerian Consultative Forum (NCF), has called on the Service Chiefs to immediately resign in their positions following their inability to secure the lives and property.
It said security operatives have failed to prevent and pre-empt attacks on the Kaduna airport and Abuja-Kaduna bound train that claimed many lives and injuring others in the last two days.
President of the group, Dede Uzor, in a statement said several unarmed and innocent persons were killed and abducted and wondered why service chiefs were still parading themselves in their respective offices after the attacks.
“It is regrettable that the Chiefs of Army Staff, Defence Staff, Air Staff, the Inspector General of Police (IGR), Director General, Directorate of State Services (DSS), and heads of other security agencies are still parading themselves in their offices. We are giving them three days to be sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari without further delay or we mobilise NIgerians to protest against them.”
NCF said they should immediately bow out honourably to avoid being disgraced in office.
•18 armed personnel onboard –NRC
Contrary to claims that the attacked train service lacked required level of security, NRC’s Managing Director, Mr. Freeborn Okhira, has said 18 armed personnel were on board.
He said the situation did not call for blame game but that all hands must be on deck to forestall reoccurence. He explained that immediately the attack occurred the train service internal communication gadget was cut off from the main control room, thus making communication an impossible task.
‘‘There are some security apparatus that you have to install that requires some levels of approvals and licences but unfortunately, we didn’t get the go-ahead to do that.’’
He said the NRC is working on a multi-layer security system to ensure that if one line of security fails, the other does not. This, he said, includes the installation of track sensor, satellite and drones procurement.
•Kalu: Attack Evil, cruel
In his reaction, Chief Whip of the Senate, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu described the attack as evil and cruel.
He commiserated with families of the departed souls while wishing hospitalised victims speedy recovery.
Kalu urged security agencies to work assiduously to rescue kidnapped victims, adding that the perpetrators of the evil act must face the wrath of the law.
He called on security agencies to work with the community where the attack took place to expose perpetrators of the evil act.
“I condemn in totality the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train by unknown persons. The attack is cruel, evil and devastating. Security agencies must launch a robust investigation into the ugly incident.
“I commiserate with the families of the departed souls and pray that God will give them the fortitude to bear the sad losses. I equally pray for the quick recovery of victims hospitalised and safe release of abducted victims.”
Kalu urged Nigerians to be vigilant and peaceful, adding that violence and other forms of social vices were detrimental to the progress of Nigeria.
•Death of TUC officials huge loss –Ngige
Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, described the death of Trade Union Congress’ (TUC) Secretary General, Musa Lawal Ozigi and Kwara State Chairman, Akinsola Akinwunmi as a huge loss to Nigeria’s tripartite community.
A statement by Ngige’s media team said the minister had in a condolence letter to the union, described Ozigi as “a dogged and consummate labour leader.”
“We shall all miss his contributions. Ozigi’s self-effacing personality often belied his depth of thought and ideas.
•Saraki: We must adopt 21st century solutions to our present day problems
Former Senate president, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has listed five things that the federal government must do to end the current insecurity across the country.
In posts on his verified social media pages on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, Saraki, who presided over the 8th Senate’s 20-Point Security Recommendations which were forwarded to the executive, emphasized the need for effective intelligence sharing and the use of technology in order to combat terrorism in Nigeria.
The former President of the Senate said: “In the last 96-hours, terrorists have overrun an airport, bombed two trains with thousands of Nigerians, and killed and injured several innocent citizens. As angry as I am — and we all are — about these attacks, one thing is clear: THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.
“The recent attack we have seen at the Gidan train station is yet another example of why people no longer feel safe in Nigeria.
“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.
“As I have reiterated for many years, drastic and decisive steps need to be taken to review our nation’s basic security infrastructure to protect lives and property.
“One, the federal government must immediately establish an inter-agency task force that will formulate strategies to smoke out all bandits on the Kaduna-Abuja rail and vehicle routes. The recommendations of this task force must be acted upon immediately. In the long term, the task force should provide Nigerians with a strategy for ridding the entire country of bandits, insurgents, and kidnappers.
“Two, the service chiefs must have a meeting and develop an immediate plan for inter-agency collaboration. The gaps in coordination, intelligence-sharing, and synergy amongst our security agencies must be immediately redressed.
“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.
“Four, we cannot view these attacks in isolation. Our intelligence network must be proactive. We must be able to analyze and plan effectively to deal with all perceived threats and all enemies of the Nigerian people.”
