Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
Again, gunmen/bandits/terrorists in Nigeria kill passengers, force suspension of train services; Buhari repeats order “to deal ruthlessly”
USAfrica: The latest rounds of killings of Nigerians riding in the new rail line transportation services, particularly the Abuja-Kaduna section, continue to raise concerns among Nigerians regarding the capacity and competence of the Buhari-led federal Government to protect the citizens of the most-populated country in Africa. Also, the gunmen have repeatedly attacked and kidnapped some travelers along the Kaduna-Abuja road/highway.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired army General has, again, ordered security service chiefs “to deal ruthlessly” with those who commit those crimes. Buhari has also stated in a statement through his media aide, on Tuesday, that: “No one should be allowed to hold the country to ransom…. Like most Nigerians, I am deeply pained by its occurrence, the second of its type, which has resulted in the death of a yet to be a determined number of passengers and others who suffered injuries.”
“The attack on the train, a safe means of transport to many, is callous; and our thoughts are with the families of the deceased and prayers for the injured.”
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the killings as “the continuing insecurity and near worthlessness of the lives of Nigerians under the insensitive All Progressives Congress (APC) government as evidenced by the vicious terrorist attack on innocent Nigerians travelling in a Kaduna State-bound train on Monday…. the fact this particular attack took place within two days of the deadly terrorist attack on the Kaduna International Airport on Saturday, in the same Kaduna State controlled by an APC government.”
The opposition PDP insists that “the security command and control coordination structure under President Buhari has collapsed. This is beside the hundreds of Nigerians, including students who were abducted by terrorists with many of them still languishing in their abductors’ den. The question to ask is, how many more Nigerians can our nation afford to lose because of the recklessness and arrogance in the failure of the APC? Nigeria bleeds, families are hurting, parents mourn and agonise, yet the APC government is on vacation.”
Also, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Prof Innocent Ujah and the Medical and Dental Practitioners of Nigeria have expressed sense of loss and sadness regarding the killing of one of their young members, Dr. Chinelo Megafu, who died from gunshots when the gunmen/terrorists/bandits attacked the same Abuja to Kaduna train.
USAfrica: Buhari and Nigeria’s burden of Insecurity. By Chido Nwangwu
- See related reports and special insights here on USAfricaonline.com regarding insecurity in Nigeria and the challenges.
