‘The North is under siege,’ ACF reacts to Kaduna train attack

The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) on Wednesday condemned the terrorists’ attack on an Abuja-Kaduna train with over 900 people on board.

An unspecified number of people were killed on Monday night when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by the criminals in one of the train’s coaches went off and forced it to derail a few minutes into the trip.

In a statement issued by its Secretary-General, Murtala Aliyu, the ACF described the frequent attacks by terrorists in the Northern region as unacceptable.

The group insisted that the frequency of the attacks had shown that the region is under a siege.

The statement read: “The ACF commiserate with the souls lost, sympathises with the wounded and prays for an end to such ugly menace, not only in Kaduna State, but all over the federation.

“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 attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train is unacceptable, and the frequency of such attacks on our towns and villages, highways and now train tracks and airports are lamentable.

“The banditry and terrorism have excised the North and the major economic activities of North-East and the North-West with a new ploy to block Kaduna which is the main gateway to the Northern part of 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.

“We call on northerners to remain positive and law-abiding, and not relent in their resilience and hope towards making lives better.

“We also call on the Federal and State Governments to, as a matter of urgency, revisit their security architecture, with a view to protecting lives and property of Nigerians.”