Women group want Nigerians to commend military

By Tobias Lengnan Dapam

A women group has urged Nigerians to commend the efforts of the in the fight against insurgency in the country.

Hajia Salamatu Adebayo, Publicity Secretary, Mothers for United Nigeria (MUN), said the military should be commended for gallantry during March 28 attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train service.

 She stated this in a statement issued on Thursday in Abuja.

In the statement titled: “Our military should be commended and not reviled,” she said the attack by enemies of the state on the Kaduna bound train service stood condemned.

 She said the MUN was mournful that lives were lost in the attack and prayed God to comfort those who lost their loved ones.

 “The encounter with the terrorists undoubtedly brought out the best in the Armed Forces of Nigeria.

 “Immediately information of the attack reached them, our troops stormed the location and rescued victims,’’ she stated.

 Adebayo quoted one of the victims, Maimuna Ibrahim, as saying she was “unable to walk; it was a soldier who carried me on his back to climb the cliff to the car that brought us to the hospital’’.

 She recalled that another lucky victim, Anas Danmusa said: “the soldiers informed us that the Air Force could not make it due to the weather but help was on the way and they fulfilled their promise.’’

Adebayo stressed that survivors acknowledged the response and arrival of troops at the scene as the fastest anybody could achieve by road.

 She stated that victims also commended the military for making sure that those that were badly injured were taken to 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital quickly.

 According to Adebayo, the Kaduna State Government also applauded the swift response of the military in salvaging the situation.

 She stated that the efforts of the military in the Northeast could not be ignored, adding that the military had continued to mount pressure on terrorists who had resorted to different deadly tactics for relevance.

 “The pressure led some 7,000 members of the Islamic State West Africa Province terrorists and Boko Haram groups to surrender in the Northeast within one week.”