The Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya says bandits and terrorists wreaking havoc around the country will soon meet their Waterloo.
Mr Yahaya gave the warning in Maiduguri while on a visit to boost the morale of troops fighting Boko Haram terrorists and commission some projects for the Nigerian troops on the frontlines.
“This is a message to all the criminals, whether they are making videos or whatever they are making, the time is up and we will get to them by the grace of God,” Mr Yahaya said. “The recent happenings by these criminal elements are panic action, and they will definitely see the noose getting close to them; it’s just a matter of time, we will get them.”
Mr Yahaya’s comments come after a video of the abducted Abuja-Kaduna train victims was released on Sunday by their abductors.
“If you (the Nigerian government) did not reach our demand, this place will be a slaughterhouse,” one of the abductors had said.
In the two-minute video, the victims were also seen being flogged by their abductors. They also begged to be rescued.
In the video, one of the captives narrated their ordeal in the Hausa language, saying their lives were in danger at the hands of their abductors and spoke of their suffering in the forests where they are currently held.
In March, Bandits launched an attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train, killing eight and abducting over 60 passengers on board.
The bandits had demanded N100 million ransom for each of the victims in their captive.
The insurgents also asked the Buhari regime to release dozens of their commanders and their families detained by the military before they could free the passengers.
On April 7, Alwan Hassan, the Managing Director of the Bank of the Agriculture, was the first to be released by the bandits after he reportedly paid an N100 million ransom.
The bandits also released 11 of the hostages on June 12, “following series of robust engagement with the terrorists and with the approval of the federal government,” according to Tukur Mamu, the negotiator and media consultant to an Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi.
On Sunday, the presidency said it had done all in its power to rescue the abducted Kaduna train passengers, adding that the efforts could be complemented if the media stopped amplifying materials from the abductors.
