•••SAYS NORTH UNDER SIEGE
The Arewa Consultative Forum has said that it is now tired of raising the alarm on the issue of insecurity and other challenges facing the northern part of the country.
The Secretary General of the ACF, Mallam Murtala Aliyu, made the comment in a statement issued to react to the train attack by terrorists which reportedly left 60 people dead, others injured and kidnapped.
“As a guardian and custodian of the welfare and integrity of the North, the ACF is tired of crying out on the issue of security, and other challenges, in the northern part of the country.”
Aliyu said that the ACF was shocked by the grisly killings and abduction of an unspecified number of passengers during the terrorists attack on the Abuja Kaduna train.
The ACF wondered how a train carrying almost 1000 passengers would be exposed to such a high level of danger without precautionary measures.
The ACF scribe said that the Government is yet to fulfill the promise it made during the last blast on the same route to prevent a reoccurrence
The ACF the frequency of stacks on towns, villages, highways, train tracks and airports was unacceptable.
The statement reads, “The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, has received with shock the tragic incidence in which passengers lost their lives, with the where about of the abducted yet to be ascertained, as a result of an attack on the Abuja-Kaduna bound train, on Monday, 28th of March. 2022.
“The Forum commiserate with the souls lost, sympathises with the wounded and prays of an end to such ugly menace, not only in Kaduna State, but all over the federation.
“As a guardian and custodian of the welfare and integrity of the North, the ACF is tired of crying out on the issue of security, and other challenges, in the northern part of the country.
“It is curious that a train carrying almost 1000 (one thousand) passengers be exposed to the kind of situation we found, on the fateful Monday evening, without any precautionary measures taken. It would be recalled that, some few months ago, there was a blast on the same route, and the government promise on taking a concrete measure to avert any future occurrence, is yet to materialise.
“Moreover, the fact that both air and rail systems, out of Kaduna, have been compromised, it is to be expected that a sensitive government should protect the only route (Kaduna/Abuja highway).
“The ACF has described, as unacceptable, the frequency of such attacks on our towns and villages, highways and now train tracks and airports.
“Currently, banditry and terrorism have excise the North and the major economic activities of northeast, northwest, with a new ploy to block the main gateway (Kaduna State), to the northern part of the country.
“It regrets that, despite all efforts claimed by security agencies and governments, at various levels, have been unable to put an end to such banditry and terrorism. After all, nearly all necessary equipment to do this are said to have been acquired, especially, the fighter planes, recurrent recruitments of security personnel, etc.
“The Forum calls on the federal and state governments to, as a matter of urgency, revisit their security architecture in the protection of lives and properties, as the current one seems to have failed.
“The ACF cautions on what it terms as unnecessary attacks that stretches our security and economic services in the country. One can, easily, recall how the lives and economy of the Borno, Zamfara, Sokoto, Niger, and Kaduna (Birnin Gwari and Southern parts of Kaduna), were damaged, and now, taking their turn on the infrastructure.
“The Arewa Consultative Forum calls on government to put a 24-hours surveillance on the route to at least avert the ugly situations occurring. ACF equally, prevails on the AZMAN and Air Peace airlines to have a rethink over their resolve to suspend flights to Kaduna International Airport. Such action contributes, negatively, to the resolve of the problems.
“According to the ACF, the tolerance of the Northern population shall, by now, been exhausted, as all their economic activities have been grounded and been left in perpetual fear.
“The Arewa Consultative Forum, however, called on its people, to remain positive and law abiding, not to relent in their resilience and hope towards making lives better for its people.”