The presidential candidate of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, says the recent abduction of 31 persons at a train station in Edo State shows that Nigeria is yet to win the battle against insecurity.
Mr Tinubu, who is seeking to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, condemned the attack in a statement by his media aide, Tunde Rahman, on Tuesday.
The passengers were abducted at Igueben Station on Saturday while waiting to board the train to Warri, Delta State.
This is the second train abduction in less than one year. In March 2022, dozens of passengers were abducted by armed persons and several persons were killed in the attack.
Many of the kidnapped victims were later released after paying ransom to the kidnappers while others were released after negotiations between the government and the abductors.
Mr Tinubu’s party won the 2015 presidential election with a promise to end insecurity, particularly the insurgency in the North-east. However, despite the improvement in the situation in the North-east, insecurity has spread across the country.
The former Lagos State governor, who has consistently defended Mr Buhari’s record on security, said this abduction “is a sad reminder that we have not completely won the war against insecurity and that there are still some agents of darkness lurking around the corner.”
He added that “I want to assure Nigerians we will win this war.”
Mr Tinubu also prevailed on the federal government and Edo State Government to collaborate to ensure the rescue of the kidnapped victims.
Furthermore, Mr Tinubu said the creation of Anti-Terrorism Battalion Forces as proposed in his manifesto will help to address violent crimes across the country.
“One of the reasons I am running for the presidency is to improve on security situation and tackle every form of insecurity in our country. We have a clear plan to end violent crimes and terrorism through our Anti-Terrorism Battalion Forces, investment in more security hardware and surveillance technology that will make our streets, neighbourhood and forests saver for socio-economic activities to thrive and bloom,” he said.
In 2022, the Abuja/Kaduna train services were suspended for nine months after the abduction.
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