Terrorists threaten to abduct, kill Buhari, El-Rufai
By Alex Olise (Lagos) and James Danjuma (Katsina)
**Three killed, several injured, dozens kidnapped in Katsina
Terrorists who seized about sixty Abuja-Kaduna train passengers on March 28th have threatened to abduct and kill President Muhammadu Buhari and Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
They have also threatened to kill the remaining passengers if the Federal Government fails to meet their demands.
The fresh threat on the life of the President and governor has added a new dimension to the ceaseless terrorist attacks in the country.
The threat has placed more burden on the security agencies who have been struggling to battle insurgency since 2009 in the Northern parts of the country as well as Southeastern states, where kidnapping and other criminal activities are on the increase.
Meanwhile, other terrorists at the weekend killed three persons and abducted more than 20 persons at Farun Bala community, in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The incident occured at about 12:30 pm when the terrorists riding on motorcycles, stormed the community to rustle their domestic animals.
It was learnt that the terrorists blocked the Katsina-Jibia road and stopped all vehicles during the entire period of operation.
It was also gathered that two of the three people killed, were passengers in one vehicle.
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The third victim was said to be a commercial vehicle driver, operating one of the Katsina State Transport Authority, KTSTA, coaster buses.
The bus with registration number KT 14D-58 KT, was said to have swerved off the road to avoid the barricade used by the terrorists to block it.
More than 20 people from four vehicles were said to have been abducted and whisked away into the forest by the terrorists.
The road is usually busy on Sundays due to a weekly market that operates in Jibia town.
A source from the area said several attempts were made to reach out to security operatives stationed at checkpoints on the road to come and repel the terrorists.
He alleged that the road has at least 20 checkpoints, with one within stone’s throw of where the incident took place.
The source lamented that no help came for the villagers and passengers affected, urging government to intensify security measures at communities vulnerable to terrorists’ attacks.
Spokesperson for the Katsina State Police Command, SP Gambo Isah, was yet to respond to enquiries regarding the incident as at the time of filing this report.
The Trumpet learnt that Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, at the weekend directed the military to beef up security across the country to thwart terrorists.
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