The National Security Council says negotiations are still ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack.
The Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Maigari Dingiyadi stated this while briefing newsmen after the council’s meeting in Abuja.
The Minister said the arrest of the self-imposed negotiator between the abductors and victims, Alhaji Tukur Mamu, would not have any effect on the release of the remaining victims.
He said the security council also declared the National Taskforce on Prohibition of Smuggling of Arms, Ammunition, Light Weapons, Chemical Weapons, and Pipeline Vandalism, NATFORCE, illegal.
The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, advised the leadership of NATFORCE to disband it with immediate effect or risk being disbanded forcefully by security agencies.
The Senate had in July passed the Bill seeking to establish the task force, while the House of Representatives is expected to pass its version upon resumption in September, which makes its existence illegal until all required legislative actions on it are completed.
Ogbeni Aregbesola noted that the investigation into Kuje correctional facility attack by gunmen is still a work in progress.
He said President Buhari had expressed satisfaction with the performance of all security agencies, while the country is moving to the phase of consolidation.
The Minister of Interior added that the council also lauded the police for their performance during the Anambra, Ekiti and Osun governorship elections.
Reporting by Bello Wakili; Editing by Abdullahi Lamino