The federal government of Nigeria is not ready to meet the demands of bandit terrorists that attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28, Naija News has learnt.
While it has been established that the government has started negotiating with the terrorists on how to secure the release of victims kidnapped during the attack, fresh information on the negotiations has it that some of the terms given by the abductors are not acceptable to the government.
Particularly, it will be recalled that the terrorists had in a viral video asked the Nigerian Government to meet their demands or they will kill the abducted victims in their custody.
In the video, the terrorists had threatened to “turn their abode into an abattoir” if the government fails to heed to their demands.
Though they failed to identify the specific thing they want, the terrorists disclosed that they are not after money but the government knows what they want and should be fast in meeting their demands.
On Sunday, the terrorists released another video where some of the captives were seen calling on the government to come to their rescue.
However, later on, the terrorists are understood to have specifically demanded the release of 16 top commanders and sponsors in government detention centres in exchange for the release of the kidnapped victims.
But this demand is not acceptable to the government, sources have confirmed and the government’s refusal is understood to have stalled negotiations for the release of the victims.
The government is also not ready to pay ransom for the victims.
A source quoted by Punch said, “The Federal Government is looking into their demands because of the hostages, but the government is being cautious; it cannot meet the demands of the terrorists. The last time the government released some commanders, they went back and the insurgency became worse.
“So, nobody is considering releasing the commanders. The terrorists were also given money previously and the situation did not improve.”
