President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the military has had to discard the deployment of lethal force in the rescue of the abducted passengers of the Abuja-Kaduna train terrorist attack because of the minimal chance of a successful outcome.
The President disclosed this in a statement on Thursday evening after meeting with families of abducted passengers at the State House, Abuja on Thursday.
The abducted victims have been in captivity since the 28th of March, 2022.
What the President is saying
The President stated that the Federal Government considered using lethal force to rescue passengers, but discarded it because of no guarantee of minimal collateral damage.
Buhari said, “We have received & evaluated several suggestions about the deployment of lethal military force to rescue the abducted train passengers. However, with no guarantee of a successful outcome and of minimal collateral damage, that course of action has had to be reluctantly discarded.”
He added that it is understandable that emotions typically run high at times like this.
“We’re just as keen to bring this sad chapter to an end, but we are also determined to safely return all the remaining victims to their families. My primary concern is to get everyone released safe and unhurt,” he added.
We have received & evaluated several suggestions about the deployment of lethal military force to rescue the abducted train passengers. However, with no guarantee of a successful outcome and of minimal collateral damage, that course of action has had to be reluctantly discarded.
— Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) August 11, 2022
What you should know
- Recall Nairametrics reported last month that the Minister of Transportation, Mr Mu’azu Sambo stated that the Nigerian government is committed to securing the release of the remaining 43 Abuja-Kaduna train passengers abducted by terrorists in the March 28 train attack in Abuja.
- Speaking to the families of the victims, Sambo said, “The government has not been sleeping from the enquiries I have made. There are some things you do not say in public, but I want you to give me time.
- ”Let me resume properly in this office and I promise you, this will be the first issue I am going to tackle by the grace of God.”