129 Days After, 34 Train Passengers Still In Kidnappers’ Den

Thirty-four of the 63 passengers kidnapped from an Abuja-Kaduna train are still in the den of their abductors following their abduction on March 28, 2022 in the attack that left nine passengers dead.

Some of the passengers have been released in batches beginning with the release of the managing director of Bank of Agriculture, followed by another set of 11, then seven and another four victims released after a video released by the terrorists showing how they were being tortured before the recent release of five of them which now makes it a total of 28 released so far, leaving 34 others still in captivity.

It was gathered that the managing director of BOA was released after a ransom of N100 million while it was also gathered that N800 million was paid as ransom before the release of the seven victims and same ransom payment effected for the release of others.

The payment of ransom by families of the kidnapped victims may not be unconnected with the released video where the terrorists boasted that they would destroy the country, kill the remaining passengers in their custody and sell out the others.

One of the terrorists in the video threatened that unless the government complied with their demands, they would turn the area into an abattoir and also vowed to abduct President Muhammadu Buhari, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and other prominent Nigerians and destabilise the country if their demands were not met.

One of the released victims, Prof Dr. Mustapha Umar Imam, an associate professor of medical biochemistry in an interview in Kaduna said the government did not play any role in his release, stressing that it was his family that did all that was required to see to his release even though he did not say whether was paid.

He said details of what transpired would be made available to him by his family members when he gets to Sokoto, adding; “What we experienced in the hands of the abductors, I don’t wish it for my worst enemy because it is unimaginable, I pray for the 34 others still left behind to also get freed unharmed because they are in very bad situation there.”