The Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has sympathised with Nigerians over what it described as the ‘callous attack on the Kaduna-Abuja train’ on Monday night.
‘The NIPR expresses its heartfelt condolences to families of the deceased, Federal and Kaduna State governments’, a statement signed by its President and Chairman of the Governing Council, Malam Mukhtar Zubairu Sirajo, read.
It further prayed for the prompt rescue of those abducted as well as speedy recovery for the injured.
Sirajo described the tragedy, which claimed many lived with many other passengers injured and abducted, as unfortunate and unacceptable.
He went further to say that the disaster was also ‘a sad reminder of the descent into the abyss that security situation, especially in that part of the country, has fallen’.
The President of the regulating body of public relations in Nigeria further said: ‘Nobody or group has the right to continuously subject people to this kind of reign of terror, dehumanising them and seemingly getting away with it’.
According to him, the Institute appreciated the gallantry of the armed forces, other security and law enforcement agencies ‘to square up to the bandits perpetrating these heinous acts’.
Sirajo however said: ‘It is clear that that a lot more needs to be done to inspire the confidence of the people. The earlier attack on the same route, which occurred in October last year ought to have served as a wake-up call for the system to be more proactive to forestall what was a not so unexpected occurrence, given the seeming over reliance of commuters on the train service as a safer alternative to plying the Abuja-Kaduna Road’.
The NIPR President called on the security agencies to urgently ‘re-strategise and get on top of the situation rather than wait to react’.
Sirajo further counselled: ‘Government, on its part, must spare no effort in continuing to provide the armed forces and security agencies with all logistical requirements to enable them up the ante in this must-win war. The intelligence gathering processes must also be given a short in the arm to enable the agencies get ahead of these criminals in all ways imaginable’.
According to one of the survivors, who spoke exclusively to Breezy News, the Kaduna-Abuja train was attacked at about 8 pm on Monday between Rijana and Katari, near Kaduna.
