Terrorists who attacked the AK-9 Abuja-Kaduna train passengers on March 28, 2022, on Friday released four more hostages, including an 85-year-old woman, Hajiya Halimatu Atta, her daughter, Adams Aliyu, and two others after four months in captivity.
Publisher of the Kaduna-based Desert Herald and Media Consultant to a controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, Tukur Mamu, who withdrew as one of the negotiators, confirmed the development to journalists in Kaduna on Friday.
Mamu also disclosed that credible information revealed that if urgent steps were not taken, 21-year-old Arzurfa John might be married off to one of the terrorists.
He noted that one of the commanders of the terrorists was in love with the lady.
Mamu gave the identities of the two other victims as Mohammed Abdulmaji (who reportedly suggested Mamu’s name to the terrorists as a mediator) and a Sokoto indigene, Alhaji Modin Bodinga.
Mamu said the Federal Government and the Christian Association of Nigeria should act urgently to secure the lady’s freedom.
He urged the CAN not to politicize the matter or treat the information with levity, adding that relevant authorities should engage the abductors on the lady’s case as soon as possible.
He said, “I can confirm that on Friday, four additional victims of the train attack were released by their abductors. The four released victims just left my office.
“They said they came collectively to thank me for the past efforts I made to mediate on their behalf and for convincing their abductors to drop the threats of executing them. They also pleaded with the stakeholders especially the Federal Government to intensify efforts as the condition of the remaining 23 victims they left in the forest was pathetic.’’
With the release of the sixth batch of four hostages on Friday, 23 hostages were still in the custody of the terrorists.
On 28 March 2022, terrorists planted explosives along the rail track and when the train approached the point, there was an explosion that caused the train to derail, leading to the death of eight passengers.
