Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has claimed that he was the one that informed President Muhammadu Buhari of the terrorists’ threat to kidnap him.
The militants who kidnapped some railway passengers in March made a threat to kidnap Buhari and El-Rufai in a video that circulated widely on the internet over the weekend.
Speaking on a radio program on Wednesday night, the governor added that everyone in his family had been cautioned.
He continued by claiming that he has been advocating for the bombing of terrorist camps wherever they may be for the past five years and that this is the only way to solve the issue.
Notable Quotes:
In his words, “I am fully aware of a video in which they made an abduction threat on Buhari and me. My family and I have also been cautioned to exercise caution. How can some terrorists threaten to kidnap the president in a nation with soldiers, police, and a Federal Government?”
Speaking further he state, “If in the past those in government thought this was a joke and saw it as just occurring in Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, and Niger, it is now happening everywhere and we must rise to deal with these people.”
“I met with the president on Sunday to discuss these issues, which is why I also informed him of the video because, up until that point, he was completely unaware of it. I informed him, and the governor of Zamfara state, Bello Matawalle, later confirmed to him that he had also seen the video.”
El-Rufai continued:
“The president assured me that he met with the service chiefs three to four days before our meeting and that he gave them a clear order to conduct a thorough military operation to deal with those individuals.”
“We pray that the military and police who were given the orders will move quickly to complete the task. We don’t need to wait for them (terrorists) to attack before we act.”
In conclusion, he said, “Wherever they are, they (the army) must pursue them and deal with them. We genuinely worry about the security situation, but we also have faith that the federal government will act responsibly.”
