…This government tolerates intelligence failures
The killing of Dr chinelo megafu nwando and five others who died from the Kaduna train attack is one of the saddest commentaries about Nigeria and the ordeal that Nigerians face with terrorists and this incident is not isolated and it was not unexpected. Even for untrained minds, it is common knowledge that when terrorists decide to attack a soft target, it is inevitable that the second even the third and forth attack could follow. The Nigerian government failed the Nigerian victims of this terrorist attack and we are saying this with all honesty and patriotism.
We are saying this from our deepest of convictions that this government of President Muhammedu Buhari has been consistently lackadaisical with the implementation of the war and terror. It is as if the terrorists are working in partnership with powerful government officials.
In just the past few months, there have been recorded incidents of spectacular intelligent failures following a spate of terror attacks targeting soft and high profile targets including the Kaduna International Airport and twice the moving trains from/to Kaduna. These attacks are such that even a local tomato seller in Suleja market ought to predict with accuracy what next these terror gangs would do. In the first attack at a moving train when the train was bombed, there were insinuations that the attackers had prior to the actual attack sent a letter to the Nigeria railway corporation last year before they struck previously but no action was taken.
Last year, these terrorists attacked a moving train from this same kaduna heading to Abuja and and in less than a year the same terrorists came back in a big way and thereby catching the security services napping. Except for very few gallant policemen and soldiers the casualties would have been higher.
What a committed, effective, efficient government Would have done haven experienced dozens of intelligent failures was to unbundle the intelligence institutions and change their heads and bring in competent officers to head its National intelligent institutions. Why should a government be very comfortable with non performing officials? Just why does this government tolerate failures?
What all these attacks have shown is that no Nation ever survived when the head of state or head of government uses nepotistic guideline for appointment into strategic defence positions but because the government does not care about the human rights of Nigerians and specifically the right to life of Nigerians, it continues to look the other way whilst precious lives of citizens are wasted by terrorists.
The current federal government has become very comfortable with incompetent heads of security services and the result is where we are now with unprecedented terrorist attacks and the high toll of casualties of these terrorists attacks who are citizens and these citizens did nothing wrong to deserve these cruel and very painful deaths in the hands of terrorists who are allowed to fester and blossom by the federal government whose key figures controlling national security share same religion and ethnicity with the terrorists unleashing blood cuddling killings.
What will check some of these attacks is when the families of the victims challenge government to court and the media and the judiciary must help out here. In short the family of Dr chinelo and other victims of this recent attack should challenge the government in court for criminal negligence of duty of care and duty to protect and claim humongous damages of nothing less than 100 billion Naira and we hope that the judges of the court who are also Nigerians will understand why the judiciary should play a role in compelling the President to protect the lives and properties of the Nigerian citizens which is his primary constitutional duty as stated in section 14 (2) of the Nigerian constitution. Those who are killed could have been the judges, it could have been us. That section 14 (2) (b) states: “It is hereby, accordingly, declared that:
(a) sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through
this Constitution derives all its powers and authority;
(b) the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government:”
HURIWA recalled that Seven persons, including a medical doctor, Chinelo Megafu, have reportedly died from gunshots injuries sustained in the terror attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train late yesterday.
NewsmakersNG learnt that authorities are waiting for the train’s manifest before making a formal announcement on the identities of the dead and those abducted during the attack.
Megafu, who NewsmakersNG learnt studied Dentistry at the Universuty of Port Harcourt and was working in a hospital in Kaduna, had tweeted during the attack that she had been shot.
She tweeted, “I’m on the train. I have been shot. Please pray for me.”
A colleague of hers, Dr Michael Ajidahun, known as The Bearded Dr Sina on Twitter, shared the sad news of her death.
She was said to have died this morning at the hospital where she was taken to.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Railway Corporation has suspended train operations along the Abuja-Kaduna route indefinitely.
The NRC made this known in a post via its official Twitter handle @Official_NRC this morning.
In a terse statement, the NRC stated that the suspension was due to unforeseen circumstances.
“Dear passengers, due to unforeseen circumstances, Train operations along the Abuja-Kaduna route has been temporarily suspended. Further communication would be given in due course,” the statement reads.
Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko
National Coordinator
Human Rights Writers Association Of Nigeria (HURIWA).
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