Nigeria’s central government under the thumb of All Progressives Congress (APC) has dumped Niger State Government in the now-stalled rescue operation for the abducted Kagara Government Science College students.
Governor Abubakar Sani Bello is accusing the Buhari administration of abandoning it to its fate in its bid to rescue the abducted 27 Kagara students.
This is coming as ThisDay reports that several travellers were abducted along the Maiduguri-Damaturu Highway on Thursday as suspected Boko Haram fighters laid siege on the major highway from Yobe State to troubled Borno State.
The newspaper gathered in Maiduguri that the insurgents ambushed commercial vehicles plying the highway yesterday afternoon and abducted many passengers.
One of the travellers, who was fortunate not to be among those abducted, told disclosed that vehicles were stopped by the insurgents, with the passengers dragged out and taken away along the bush path.
He said the heavy armed insurgents took position on the Highway at Garin- Kuturu near Auno, Konduga Local Government Area, of Borno, few kilometres from Maiduguri the capital.
He said some of them had to disembark from their vehicles and ran back towards Damaturu where they were initially travelling from.
“When we saw that the insurgents have been cleared off the highways, we trekked back to join our vehicles and started our journey into Maiduguri”, he said.
Another passenger said “we are very close to the scene of the attack, but the sound of gunshots alerted us and our driver had to immediately reverse the vehicle and headed back to Benisheik town.”
One other passenger also disclosed that “we left Damaturu to Maiduguri around 12pm after we passed Mainok town and at were a village called Gari Kuturu, just few kilometres to Maiduguri; we started hearing gunshots all over the bush and our driver immediately sped off on high speed.”
A credible source within the military told disclosed that the Nigerian Army engaged the Boko Haram for about an hour, dispersed them from the Highway, cleared the road and escorted travelers into Maiduguri.
A driver with Borno Express Company, the state government owned transport outfit, who chose to remain anonymous said many vehicles were left on the highway as passengers fled in different direction into the bush.
Governor Bello was however, lamenting when Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, paid him a sympathy visit at Government House, Minna, on Thursday. He said though the Federal government sent a delegation to the state on the matter but that it has been left to shoulder the financial responsibility alone.
“The Federal Government has sent a delegation to the state and has deplored additional 300 mobile policemen to the state but the government has been left to shoulder all the financial responsibility so where is the support.
“At the moment, we have not seen any Federal support here since this incident occurred. Yes we had a delegation that came to commiserate with us but we are left to ourselves,” he remarked.
The governor gave an assurance that with or without the support of the Federal Government, the state government has already taken steps to rescue the abducted students, the Staff and other relatives in captivity unhurt.
“We will use whatever means and resources available to make sure the children return home safely”, he assured. Governor Bello said that government cannot say when exactly the children and others will be released saying, “we don’t have an exact day when these children will be released but I am very sure very soon”.
Senator Kalu said he was in Minna to commiserate with the government and people of the state over the recent security challenges and the abduction of innocent school children by armed bandits.
He used the opportunity to call on Abuja to as a matter of necessity establish a joint security committee in the state and other troubled parts of the country in order to battle the bandits to a standstill.
“We sympathize with you and we share in your grieve at the moment because we know what you are passing through and this is why I am calling on the Federal Government to set up a Joint Security Committee in the state in order to wage a total war against the bandits and defeat them, finally’’, he said.
