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Nigerian Governors may resolve to bringing in foreign mercenaries to fight terrorists if the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government fails to find a lasting solution forthwith.
The frustrated governor spoke with journalists shortly after briefing Buhari on the recent killings in his state, including the Monday attack on the Kaduna-bound train which claimed nine casualties with a yet-to-be known number of people abducted.
El-Rufai urged the FG to find a permanent fix to killings in various parts of the country and route out terrorists hibernating in forests areas around Kaduna or else the governors will be left with no other choice but to take action to protect lives and properties.
Speaking in Hausa, El-Rufai said: “I have complained to Mr president and I swear to God, if action is not taken, we as governors will take actions to protect the lives of our people.
“If it means deploying foreign mercenaries to come and do the work, we will do it to address these challenges,” reported Daily Trust.
The Governor, however, said Buhari has given him assurance that necessary steps will be taken to bring an end to terrorism in the next few months, maintaining that the best way to deal with the terrorists once and for all was for the Nigerian Armed Forces to bomb forest enclaves where the criminals reside.
Speaking on Monday’s train attack, El-Rufai said: “They came ready and they have been preparing for a long time and knew which coach to attack, abduct the VIP.
“And I have been saying that the forests where these bandits are hiding, it is high time that we go there and bomb them all. Everyone in the forest should be killed.
“Unless this is done, this problem will persist and it is capable of destroying Nigeria as a whole.”
“These people (terrorists) are getting money. The way they are so emboldened; they fear no authority, no soldier and so why won’t security agents go to their enclaves and kill them all?
“We know where they are, SSS gives reports on them every day, they have their numbers including that of Dogo Gide and what he is planning,” he said.
El-Rufai also reiterated his administration’s stance against paying ransom to secure the release of the abducted passengers even though the terrorists are yet to make any specific demands.
He said, “They have contacted some of the families but they have not made specific demands yet.
“They are not the ordinary kidnappers, it’s Boko Haram members that connived with bandits to launch the attack and so our thought is, they may demand the government to pay the ransom.”
The governor said efforts were underway by security personnel to locate the terrorists and possibly rescue the kidnapped passengers, adding that the government still holds the protection of citizens’ lives as a matter of priority.
El-Rufai’s call for foreign mercenaries comes barely two months after his Borno State counterpart Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, made a similar call to Buhari.
Speaking at a weekly briefing organised by the Presidential Communications Team led by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, Zulum said Nigeria needs to engage mercenaries to complement efforts of the security agencies in tackling insurgency across the country.
