We Planned To Attack Bandits Even With Risk Of Killing Abducted Students – El-rufai

Governor Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna State has said that his administration was prepared to lose some students in a bombardment it planned for the abductors of students of Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka.

According to El-rufai who frowns at paying ransom to bandits, such an incident will be considered collateral damage.

Speaking at a webinar organised by Africa Leadership Group, the governor said the bandits changed their location before the planned attack could be carried out.

“Two days after the abduction of the Afaka young people, I was assured by the air force and the army that they knew where the kidnappers were with the students and they had encircled [them],” the governor said.

“We were going to attack them. We would lose a few students but we would kill all the bandits and we would recover some of the students.

“That was our plan. That was the plan of the air force and the army… But they slipped through the cordon of the army. That is why they were not attacked.

“We know it is risky, we know in the process we may lose some of the abductees but it is a price we have to pay.

“This is war, there will always be collateral damage in war and we will rather do that than pay money because paying money has not solved the problem anywhere in the world,” he said.