Pascal Arogorn Ibe
The Kaduna State Government and the Federal Government received security briefing about the intention of terrorists to strike at a number of places in and around Kaduna state, including Kachia Road and Greenfield University, but the warnings were ignored, FIJ can report.
According to a security source who spoke with FIJ on Wednesday, intelligence officials “happened on” information about the planned attacks during multi-level efforts to rescue the father of a senior official of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), who had been abducted by the same group of terrorists.
“In the joint efforts to rescue the father of the NNPC official, it became clear that the people you call bandits even though they’re actually terrorists were planning to attack some more places, including locations at Kachia Road and the Greenfield University at Kasarmi Village, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria Expressway,” the source said.
“And I can personally tell you that one Commissioner was made aware; and not only that, he was presented evidence. I may not know how many people in the state government were made aware, in the end, but I at least know of this one Commissioner and I expect he passed it on to the Governor.”
FIJ cannot name the said Commissioner even though his identity was revealed, as this would compromise both the identity and security of our source, but the attacks indeed happened.
Commissioner even though his identity was revealed, as this would compromise both the identity and security of our source, but the attacks indeed happened.
On April 6, TheCable reported that at least nine commuters were shot dead and an unspecified number abducted by bandits along Kaduna-Kachia Road in the Kajuru Local Government Area of the state.
Exactly two weeks later, on April 20, a total of 23 captives were taken from Greenfield University, located along the Kaduna-Abuja Highway.
Five of them were killed few days after the abduction, in protest of the failure of their families or government to meet the kidnappers’ demand of an N800 million ransom. One by the name Aaron Attahiru, however, was released after his parents negotiated and independently paid a ransom, leaving 15 females and two males in captivity.
The last threat from the kidnappers was to kill the remaining 17 captives if the ransom, reduced to N100 million and 10 brand new motorcycles, was not delivered to them.
FIJ reached out to key officials of the Kaduna State Government for comments, but they all declined to talk.
However, one source close to the state government, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to publicly speak on the matter, confirmed that the state government indeed received security briefing but did not have the powers to act on its own, so it passed it on to the security agencies at the federal level.
“Yes, intelligence was received. It was passed on to security agencies and it was one of those pieces of intelligence that no action, to the best our knowledge, was taken on,” he said.
“There are other ones that were passed on to security agencies and there was action. Why that particular one was not acted on, I don’t know. But everybody knows that the only security agents that the Governor can give orders to are his personal escorts.”
He explained also that security agents are dealing with their own unique challenges, the most important of which is the numbers.
“These guys don’t have the numbers; yes,” he said. “Whether it is the Military, Police or Air Force, the numbers are not enough.”
F.IJ
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