A large number of terrorists reportedly blocked the Kaduna-Abuja expressway on Thursday, but the narrative was promptly dismissed by Kaduna government as fake news.
Former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, in a post on his Twitter handle said he got information that bandits had blocked the road.
He wrote: “Just got a distress call that Bandits in large numbers have again blocked the Kaduna-Abuja road this afternoon. Travellers are speedily turning backwards.”
Moments after, the Kaduna state government debunked the news as fake.
Samuel Aruwan Commissioner, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs said the fake news was presented by a group of social media enthusiasts who celebrate negative news.
“The preliminary operational feedback showed that fleeing bandits escaping a military onslaught attempted to pass through a narrow corridor around Kasarami general area of Kaduna-Abuja road.
“The troops, on receiving this intelligence, hurriedly moved to the location and engaged them in the adjoining forest.
“The Kaduna State Government will update members of the general public when more detailed feedback is received.
“The Kaduna State Government does not deny the existence of security challenges, and continues to work assiduously with relevant military and security agencies”, Aruwan said.
On Monday, terrorists bombed an Abuja-Kaduna train, killing eight people, injuring scores of passengers and abducting an unspecified number of others.
The bandits had last week invaded the Kaduna International Airport and killed a NAMA staff member.
They stopped a Lagos-bound plane from flying. It took the intervention of soldiers to repel them after hours of gun battle.
