Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State, has revealed that he spoke with President Muhammadu Buhari about the audacious threat made by terrorists to kidnap him.
El-Rufai claimed that the president expressed concern over the situation and gave him the assurance that he had instructed security personnel to respond quickly to attack the terrorists before they could attack them first.
According to InsightnaijaTV, a video of militants threatening to kidnap Governor El-Rufai and Nigeria’s most important citizen went viral over the weekend.
The terrorists did not make it clear why they targeted only President Buhari and the current governor of Kaduna with their threat. However, it was obvious that the attackers were behind the death and kidnapping of numerous passengers on an Abuja-Kaduna train in March 2022.
El-Rufai claimed in an interview with newsmen last night that he had to personally inform the Nigerian president of the viral video’s existence.
El-Rufai claimed that the terrorists had cautioned him and his family to exercise caution and recognize their limits.
The governor expressed confusion over the development and claimed that for the past five years, he has been promoting the bombing of terrorist camps wherever they may be, claiming that this is the only way to solve the issue.
During the Radio programme on Wednesday night with Daily Trust, El-Rufai reportedly said: “I have been warned to be careful including my families too. How can we be in a country with soldiers, police and Federal Government but some terrorists will be threatening to abduct the president?
“If in the past those in government think this is a joke and see it as only happening in Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna and Niger, it’s now at home and we must rise up to deal with these people. This is why I met with the president on Sunday and told him about these problems. I also told him about the video because up to that day he was not even aware. I told him and the following day Zamfara state governor, Bello Matawalle, also confirmed to him that he saw the video too so as to take action.”
Speaking on President Buhari’s verdict about the threat, El-Rufai said: “The president assured me that he met with the service chiefs 3-4 days before our meeting and that he gave them a clear directive to have a comprehensive military operation to deal with those people. We hope, God’s willing the soldiers and police that were given the directives will hasten up to finish the job. We don’t have to wait until they (terrorists) strike before we respond.
“They (soldiers) must go after them wherever they are to deal with them. The truth is we are worried about the security situation but we hope the federal government will do the right thing.”
