Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has accused the military of abdication in their responsibility to bomb the locations of bandits terrorising his state.
The governor told journalists on Wednesday, that he was frustrated and helpless, adding that the military knew the location of the bandits wreaking havoc in the state, but was refusing to bomb their hideouts.
El-Rufai who was speaking when Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, visited the state to assess the situation following a terrorist attack on a Abuja-Kaduna train that left at least eight persons dead, said the terrorists’ hideouts should be bombed.
He said the location of the terrorists was public knowledge and even the Department of State Services usually monitors their telephone lines.
El-Rufai said, “We have enough intelligence for us to take action. The Air Force undertakes enough ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance); and the DSS has informants all over the place.
“We know what they (terrorists) are planning. We get the reports. The problem is for the agencies to take action. Don’t wait until they attack before you respond. The Army should go after their enclaves to wipe them out. Let the Air Force bomb them.
“Before, they were categorised as bandits and if you bombed them, you would have issues with human rights organisations and international criminal courts and so on. But, now that they have been declared terrorists by the court, they can be legally killed without any consequences from international human rights organisations.”
The governor insisted that the camps and phone numbers of the terrorists were known by the military agencies, stressing that Kaduna State was currently in a state of war.
“We know where their camps are, we know where they are; the SSS have their phone numbers, they listen to them, and they give me the report. We know what they are planning. We shouldn’t be waiting for them to attack; why can’t we go after them?” El-Rufai asked.