I don’t know why they want me dead —Buhari
Nigerian Tribune
FORMER military head of state and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari, has said he doesn’t know the motive behind the attempt to kill him.
This was as he disclosed that nobody had called or written a letter to threaten his life before the foiled attempt on his life, on Wednesday.
Speaking in an interview with the Hausa Service of the Voice of America (VOA), monitored in Kaduna, on Thursday, Buhari said he was yet to know the motive behind the attempt on his life and regretted the death of innocent people at the scene of the blast.
According to him, “we were on our way when a car suddenly trailed us and was speeding to get close to my vehicle, but the one following mine did not allow that.
“When we reached Kawo, near the market, he had to stop for other vehicles coming from the other end. It was the right side of the market, on the left side is the road coming into Kaduna before the overhead.
“From the right side, they detonated the bomb, but Allah saved us. The three vehicles on my convoy were affected. I came out unhurt but I saw many people on the ground, some dead, while others were seriously injured. My aides were injured too, but they had been treated and discharged.
“When I alighted from the car, there was blood on my dress. I did not know how it came about, because I did not have a scratch myself, but dead bodies were all over the place. The security tried to move me to the other side and we just got one of the vehicles passing and they brought me home.”
The APC chieftain said “nobody had written me or called to threaten me. The incident took me by surprise... I don’t know the motive behind the attempt.”
He also told journalists at his residence in Kaduna that when the question of Boko Haram started, it was on record that the first statement he made, about 18 months ago, was that no religion advocated what was happening now.
“They kill children in schools in the North-East and their teachers, they burn churches, mosques, motor parks and markets. Where is religion there? Where is ethnicity there?
“This is terrorism and I hope the government will come to grip with it. Nigeria is capable of dealing with this, we dealt with the civil war, for 30 months, we fought and we kept Nigeria one and God willing, we are going to keep Nigeria one,” he said.
Buhari also commiserated with families of those who died in the incident, while praying God to give them the fortitude to bear the losses.
