Abuja-Kaduna Train Service Should Not Resume Until Victims of Attack Are Released’

John Shiklam in Kaduna

The families of the abducted passengers of the March 28, 2022, Abuja- Kaduna train attack have declared that train services on the route should not resume until the victims are released from bandits’ captivity.

At a press conference held yesterday in Kaduna, leaders of relations of the abducted people, Dr. Abdulfatai Jimoh, also expressed disappointment with the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, and the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) for alleged insensitivity toward the plight of the victims.

They also expressed disappointment that they sought the intervention of the leadership of the National Assembly, “which is the people’s court, but nothing has been forthcoming from them.

“Today marks the 42nd day our loved ones have been held hostage. It has been 42 long days of living in fear-virtually no sleep, no bath, wearing the same clothes, under the scorching sun and rain, and exposed to extreme environmental hazards.

“The emotional, psychological, mental, and physical torture arising from these conditions is only imaginable.”

Jimoh lamented that: “Among the abducted passengers are children, some as young as 3-year-old, pregnant women, other women, including an 85-year-old great grandmother, among others. Some of these victims have health challenges requiring daily medications, which they have had no access to in the last 42 harrowing days.

“We read in the news that one of the two pregnant women in captivity delivered her baby in the forest.

“Giving birth is supposed to be a moment of joy; how would it have been if this woman delivered her baby in the comfort of a maternity ward? She delivered in whose hands? What is the place of birth of this baby, the forest?”

 While some families have their breadwinners in captivity, others have their wives, mothers, sisters, brothers, uncles, and aunties held down in the bush.

He said: “This hostage-taking has drastically disrupted the living conditions of affected families. Children are crying every day, with the only question in their mouths being: When are my mummy and daddy coming home? What a miserable state.

“Since this unfortunate attack on the Abuja- Kaduna train, we believe the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria alongside his security and intelligence chiefs have been working to rescue our loved ones.

“We have been given assurances that a positive outcome of these efforts would be apparent soon.

“We must, however, register our displeasure with the way and manner the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, has been handling this tragic event since it occurred.

“Just a few days after March 28, Amaechi was seen running around the stadium in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he declared his intention to become the next president of Nigeria.

“We had expected Amaechi to be running around as to how to get his abducted passengers rescued, and this is highly disappointing.

“The president also directed the management of NRC to establish a Situation Room to give a minute-by-minute account of rescue efforts to relatives of the kidnapped passengers.

“Still, one week after this presidential directive was issued, NRC has neither contacted the relatives of the kidnapped victims nor established any Situation Room as directed by the president.

“This display of gross incompetence and insensitivity should lead to appropriate punishment.

“Furthermore, we sought the intervention of the leadership of the National Assembly, which is the people’s court, but nothing has been forthcoming from them.”

The relations, however, expressed gratitude to Nigerians, especially elder statesmen, traditional, religious, and community leaders, and the Nigerian media for lending their strong voices to the struggle, and for their prayers for divine intervention, adding that: “We still need this vital support until success is achieved.”