April 13, (THEWILL) – The Federal Government on Wednesday, said preliminary report on the Kaduna-bound train terror attack has revealed that there was collaboration between bandits and Boko Haram terrorists.
Boko Haram were believed to be confined to the North East.
Fielding questions from State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council meeting, Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said, “What is happening now is that there is a kind of an unholy handshake between bandits and Boko Haram insurgents.
“Preliminary reports of what transpired at the Kaduna train attacks show that there is a kind of collaboration between the bandits and the dislodged Boko Haram terrorists from the northeast. I can tell you very confidently that the Federal Government is on the top of this matter”, Muhammed said.
On the 72-hour ultimatum given to the Buhari government by families of the victims of the attack, Mohammed said, “I think the Honourable Minister of Defence has already addressed the issues. One, that what the Federal Government is doing won’t be subject matter of a press conference, because we have lives at stake.
“What I can assure you is that as we speak, the respective arms of the government are actually engaged in getting those victims released.
“And that the various arms of security are working night and day to unravel the mystery surrounding the kidnap, the attack as a whole, the kidnapped people. What I can assure you is that you get the respective arms of the government actually engaged as we speak, in getting those, you know, victims released. It’s natural for anybody who is a father or a mother of a kidnapped person to be worried and to be concerned.
“But at the level of government, we appreciate that and we are leaving no stone unturned, but we’ll give you specific steps we’re taking I think it will be counter productive and not going to aid or help those who are kidnapped or help you know, the security forces who are tracing and ensuring that there’ll be no repeat of such attacks.”
The Minister assured the nation that the military, in collaboration with other security agencies, are working hard to bring to an end the frequent attacks on innocent citizens.
On his part, Minister of Defence, retired General Bashir Magashi emphasised that the military would soon unravel those behind the incessant attacks and banditry.
While providing information on the perpetrators of the train attack, said, “Honestly, I think the security chiefs are working hard to unveil those that are involved, and we will tell you very soon those that are carrying out these attacks.
“Both Jos and Kaduna, we will come and explain to the public what is really going on and our efforts to ensure that all these activities are stopped once and for all. We are rarely on top of the situation, we are planning hard and we will get it out as soon as possible.”
Magashi also announced that at Wednesday’s meeting, the Federal Executive Council approved the purchase of more operational vehicles for the military.
He said they would be used for the transportation of troops and cargos to various areas where there are security challenges.
