NRC confirms Tribune investigation, says seven workers kidnapped, one killed in train attack

Following the Nigerian Tribune’s exclusive report on the silence of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on seven railway workers kidnapped during the bombing of the Abuja-Kaduna passenger train, the NRC in its daily situation update very late on Monday night, confirmed the abduction of the seven railway workers and the death of one female worker.

Recall that the Tribune Online in an exclusive report on Monday reported that NRC workers expressed anger at the management for its perceived silence on the fate of seven railway workers who were kidnapped during the attack and a female worker who lost her life during the attack.

However, the NRC, for the first time on Monday night included the seven kidnapped workers in it’s sixth update of situation report on the Abuja-Kaduna train bombing and also confirmed the death of one of the workers onboard the train.
According to the daily update signed by the Managing Director of the NRC, Engineer Fidet Okhiria, “The latest report on the incident of the ill-fated AK9 train of Monday 28th March 2022 is as follow:

“One Coache (SP 00020) was re-railed and safely moved to Rigasa Station. This brings the total number of recovered Coaches safely moved to NRC Stations to eight.

“Intensive track repair works continued on site to enable the recovery of the remaining Coaches and Locomotives.

“On the status of 362 validated passengers on board, 191 persons on the manifest are now confirmed safe and at their various homes (Additional 5 persons confirmed safe today). “46 phone numbers on the manifest are still either switched off or not reachable since Tuesday morning. 33 phone numbers on the manifest are ringing but still no response from the other end. 62 phone numbers on the manifest, when called, response non-existent.

“22 persons are reported missing by their relatives. Eight persons are confirmed dead.

“On the crew of the train, there were a total of 20 number of Train Crew on board.

“Seven were NRC staff. Out of the seven NRC staff, five are okay while two are missing. Another 10 workers were Janitors onboard the train. Out of the 10 Janitors, six are okay, three are missing and one is dead. There were also three number of Caterers onboard the train. Out of the three Caterers, one is okay and two are missing.

“NRC remains committed to the safety of her Passengers and Staff on board the ill-fated Ak-9 train service. The Corporation will continue to collaborate with security agencies to ensure all persons being held are rescued unhurt and reunited with their families.

“Our heart goes out to those who lost loved ones and those injured in the attack and now recuperating from the hospital. The Corporation remains appreciative of all the support and cooperation received so far from the security agencies at this challenging times.”