When will abducted passengers of Abuja-Kaduna train attack regain freedom?

It has been three weeks since an attack on an Abuja-Kaduna train. During the attack, while some of the passengers were killed, several persons were abducted, and many of them are yet to regain their freedom. Northern Bureau Chief, MUHAMMAD SABIU, examines the circumstances surrounding the delay in the rescue of the captives, and reports. 

On March 28, 2022, a train which departed Abuja for Kaduna was a few minutes away from its destination when it was attacked by gunmen. During the attack, eight persons were said to have been killed, over 20 injured while several others were abducted.

Fatima Shuaib, a student, is one of the survivors of the train attack. Speaking with Nigerian Tribune from her hospital bed at St. Gerald Catholic hospital, Kakuri, the 27-year-old gave a graphic account of the incident.

According to her, the train left Abuja on that fateful day around 6pm, hoping to get to Kaduna at past 8pm. However, after travelling for over 90 minutes, the ride was interrupted by a heavy sound.

She said: “The train began to move as if it was going to fall, but eventually it stopped. When I peeped through the window, I saw our attackers in camouflage outfits, holding AK-47 rifles. There were about 20 of them. They were trying to force themselves into the train.

“From the way they spoke, they appeared to be from neighbouring countries. They didn’t seem like Nigerians.”

The invaders, it was gathered, were teenagers between the ages of 18 and 22 years.

Findings revealed that for the one-and-a-half hours during which they operated, they shot at the train and in the confusion that followed, bullets hit some passengers.

However, before the arrival of security operatives, the hoodlums, who reportedly came in five Hilux pick-up vehicles and a few motorcycles, took some of the passengers to the forest.

According to Fatima, hundreds of soldiers came to rescue them, and persons who sustained injuries were conveyed to the 44 Military Hospital and the St. Gerald Hospital for medical attention.

The following day, in a press statement, the Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, hinted that hundreds of passengers were rescued and have been reunited with their families. At this point, it wasn’t fully clear the number of missing passengers.

Missing passengers  

As the wave of uncertainty started rearing its head, relatives besieged the railway station to identify their loved ones. Seven days later, it became clear that some passengers were missing.

Nine days after the attack, the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan, was released after reportedly paying ransom.

Hours later, the abductors released a video showing the BOA MD where he was pleading with the federal government to do the needful by ensuring the release of other captives.

According to the embattled MD in the video, the abducted passengers are living in misery. However, it was the statement of one of the abductors as presented in the video that caught the attention of viewers. Speaking in Hausa, he spoke on the reason behind the attack.

He was quoted as saying the group are not after money but that the Federal Government is aware of what prompted them to strike.

Days after the release of the video, family members of the abducted members addressed the media, during which they pleaded for the immediate release of their loved ones. They also berated the federal government’s attitude to ensuring the release of the captives.

The chairman of the relatives’ forum, Dr. Abdufatai Jimoh, maintained that the lukewarm attitude of the Federal Government was no longer acceptable to them.

While asking the government to work towards the unconditional release of the victims, they said the federal government or the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) had not contacted them to find out how they are faring or to tell them the efforts the government is making to address the situation.

Jimoh then announced that they would give the federal government 72 hours ultimatum, beginning from the midnight of April 11, to ensure the release of the abducted passengers.

Motive for abduction is to make demands to government—Security analyst

Commenting on the recent video showing the kidnapped persons, Bulama Burkati, a security analyst who focuses on groups such as Boko Haram, wrote on his Facebook page that even though the perpetrators of the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train did not state their demands, he believes their motive for the abduction of the passengers was simply to compel the government  to release some of their commanders who were arrested by the federal government.

According to him, this is the way the group operates. Bukarti contended the abductors will not be after money as they claim but rather they will  keep the abductees in their camp, while pressing for their demands.

He also said many of the abductors› commanders were apprehended in the North-East.

Speaking in the same vein, a Professor and a security consultant on insurgency, Yusuf Usman, in a thesis titled ‹The unholy alliance between the bandits and Islamic State of West Africa Province( ISWAP)›, argued that for long time, members of the movement had wanted to launch its attack on the North West and by extension North Central as it did in the North East, but they met with a stiff resistance from religious leaders and traditional institutions who preach against their doctrine and philosophy to their subjects.

But when banditry and kidnapping took the centre stage in the North West, ISWAP saw a window and they exploited it to their advantage. Professor Usman argued that the insurgents penetrated the zones by working with the bandits.

Findings by Nigerian Tribune revealed that similar attacks happened in Borno state when many facilities were destroyed by insurgents.

The scholar noted that the current situation was what Sheikh Ahmad Gummi was trying to avert two years ago when he tried to convince the authorities to dialogue with the bandits before ISWAP gets to them to propagate their ideology, but he was misunderstood.

Meanwhile, as the three-day ultimatum given by relatives of the abducted passengers expired on April 15, again, the family members of the abducted passengers addressed another media briefing during which they hinted that the federal government has opened discussions with the terrorists.

The Chairman of the forum, Dr Abdulfatai Jimoh, said while they were happy about the new development, the federal government should hasten to ensure the release of kidnapped persons. They also warned the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) against resumption of train services for as long as the abductees are still in captivity.

But the statement by one Dr Abdulkarim Attah, who said his sister and 85-year-old mother are still with the kidnappers, is worrisome. He said the abductors contacted him eleven times over what they did, saying they told him that the outburst of Governor Nasir El-Rufai in recent times prompted them to strike at his backyard.

The Kaduna governor has repeatedly called on security forces to bomb forests in which bandits operate.

Even though discussions between the government and the terrorists are said to have since commenced in earnest, but from the feelers available to the Nigerian Tribune, an agreement between the two sides has not been reached.

While it is hoped that there will be headway soon, with many persons aside from the train passengers kidnapped in different attacks across states, it remains to be seen if a total ceasefire will be achieved soon.