COAS orders troops to hunt down terrorists As 8 confirmed dead with many kidnapped
Paul Michael, Defence Editor, Abuja
Chief of Defence Staff, Major-General Lucky Irabor, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant-General Faruk Yahaya and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba on Tuesday visited the scene of Kaduna – Abuja train attack.
The Trumpet reported that on Monday night, a train leaving Abuja for Kaduna was attacked by gunmen suspected to be bandits around Dutse axis. It is just a few kilometres to the Rigasa Train Station in Igabi Local Government Area of the state.
Sources close to the Rigasa Train Station said no fewer than eight passengers were killed during the attack, with some missing, while the bandits left with many.
A statement by the Director Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said the COAS while assessing the security situation at the scene of the attack, ordered troops of the Nigerian Army and other security agents to crack down the bandits and rescue the victims.
He said, “The COAS, who was accompanied by some principal staff officers of the Army Headquarters and the General Officer Commanding 1 Division, on arrival at scene, assessed the security situation around the general area of the attack and inspected the attacked train, as well as the rail track to evaluate the degree of damage.
“He ordered the troops of the NA and other security agencies to intensify their search and rescue operations to ensure that the kidnapped victims are rescued unconditionally.”
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The Army General further said that the COAS also assured Nigerians that the “troops will be undeterred and vehement in the fight against banditry and other forms of criminality.”
According to him, the COAS urged members of the surrounding communities and all Nigerians to be vigilant and continue to avail troops with credible information to enhance their operations across the country.
Gen Yahaya observed that the attack reverberates the need for critical stakeholders to review the security of railways across the country in order to achieve the desired security architecture for railway transportation.
Meanwhile, The Nigerian Railway Corporation has suspended operations along the Abuja-Kaduna route following the attack.
The NRC confirmed the suspension in a statement via its Twitter handle, @Official_ NRC, on Tuesday.
The statement reads, “Dear passengers, due to unforeseen circumstances, Train operations along the Abuja-Kaduna route has been temporarily suspended. Further Communication would be given in due course.”
Commenting on the incident, the Nigerian Red Cross said many passengers were injured.
Adding that the injured and the casualties had been moved to Saint Gerald hospital and 44 Army Reference Hospital Kaduna.
In an interview with newsmen, the Kaduna State Branch Secretary of the Red Cross, Sunday Awulu, said, “Many people were injured and because it was night, we could not ascertain the exact casualty figure; people ran helter skelter.
“The vehicles used for evacuation were many. Ambulances from 44, Airforce Barau Dikko, Ministry of Health, Kaduna Transport Authority vehicles, Nigerian Army too came with their vehicles to participate in the evacuation.
‘We arrived the scene around 2 am but before then Nigerian Army and Air force were already on ground trying to evacuate the passengers. It was a participatory thing involving stakeholders,” he said.
