Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has demanded that security agencies in the state be more proactive and fast in their response to intelligence reports.
El-Rufai said this, according to a Nigerian daily, the PUNCH while he received the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi over the Kaduna train attack.
He said the state gets enough intelligence reports but the agencies don’t react in good time.
The governor also added that the military agencies know the camps and hideouts of the terrorists, and should wipe them out before they attack.
“We have enough intelligence for us to take action. The air force undertakes enough ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance), and the DSS has informants all over the place,” he said.
“We know what they (terrorists) are planning. We get the reports. The problem is for the agencies to take action. Don’t wait until they attack before you respond. The army should go after their enclaves to wipe them out. Let the air force bomb them.
“Before, they were categorised as bandits and if you bombed them, you would have issues with human rights organisations and international criminal courts and so on. But, now that they have been declared terrorists by the court, they can be legally killed without any consequences from international human rights organisations.
“We know where their camps are, we know where they are; the SSS have their phone numbers, they listen to them, and they give me the report. We know what they are planning. We shouldn’t be waiting for them to attack; why can’t we go after them?
“We are in a state of war; this place should be declared a warzone. The army, air force, and the police should go in there and kill them. Will there be innocent casualties? Yes! In every war situation, there are casualties.
“We have written to the Nigerian Railway Corporation twice to stop the evening service. The last train from Kaduna to Abuja should leave by 4pm so that it will get to Abuja in daylight. We were lucky the military response was just within an hour, because it was dead in the night.
“I’m angry, frustrated and feel totally helpless. Let us establish military bases within Katari and Rijana.”
At least 9 travellers were killed and many others hospitalised when terrorists attacked a train enroute Abuja. The incident has opened another fresh wound in Nigeria’s terrorism issues as citizens seek better security in the country.