The Presidency has reacted to a video by the Abuja-Kaduna train attack terrorists in which they threatened to wreak havoc on the nation and abduct president Muhammadu Buhari and Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai.
In the video, the terrorists were seen flogging the victims and also threatening to turn the place where the victims are being held to “abattoir” if government failed to meet the terrorists’ demands.
However, the Presidency in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu told Nigerians that President Buhari had provided moral, material and equipment support to the military and expected nothing short of good results in the immediate.
“Terrorist activity using propaganda and the use of violence to force governments to accept or submit to political demands is not new all over world.
“The country’s security and defense forces are not clueless or helpless. They have their plans and ways of doing things which they will not display in the media.
“The dilemmas in dealing with the specific case of train terrorists are manifold: punitive action like the popular call for carpet bombing of the known locations may assuage the desire of an angry public for revenge, but what about the hostages? They have committed no offense. All they did was to board a train.
“It suffices to say that the security forces are not relenting. They are acutely aware of their duties, responsibilities and what the nation expects of them. Whenever they embark upon those actions, they expect that the public should provide them with the needed support.
“Terrorism is a global scourge that must be fought by all actors- the military, the civilian population and the communication service providers. This is the only way safe havens of terrorists are eliminated in every part of the world.
“To help the nation against ongoing situation, the media must increase their support for the fight against the exploitation of the internet and social media for terrorist purposes,” the statement reads.
