Exactly six months into the abduction of train passengers along the Abuja-Kaduna road by terrorists, 23 of the victims are still held captive.
Over 60 people were abducted in March, 23 victims whose relatives cannot afford the ransom demand of the terrorists are still held in the forest.
This is in spite of a strong assurance of securing their release from President Muhammadu Buhari when he played host to relatives of the victims at the Presidential Villa in August.
In the wake of the attack, the president had also directed security chiefs to hunt down the terrorists and rescue those abducted.
Recall that armed terrorists had on March 28 ambushed the train heading for Kaduna from the nation’s capital city after bombing its rail track.
The attack, which was attributed to the failure of the authorities to act on intelligence reports occurred only a couple of days after unidentified gunmen invaded the Kaduna Airport, killing an official on the runway.
In the train attack, at least eight passengers were reportedly killed, while 168 others were kidnapped or declared missing.
It was the second time the rail line between Abuja and Kaduna would be the target of attack.
Less than 24 hours after the attack on the train, some Nigerian government officials visited the scene of the incident to ascertain the level of damages.
Prominent amongst them were the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, ex-Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Chief of Defence staff, Lucky Irabor, and Chief of Army Staff, Faruk Yahaya.
Others who also visited the scene were the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, and officials of the Nigerian Railway Cooperation (NRC).
President Muhammadu Buhari, while reacting to the incident, described it as ‘callous’ and a matter of grave concern while also directing security chiefs to hunt down the terrorists and rescue those abducted.
A few days after the attack, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Bank for Agriculture, Alwan Hassan, was released alongside others.
Although Hassan, who was seen in a video released by the bandits, said he was freed on compassionate grounds, there were reports that a ransom of N100 million was paid to secure his release.
Also, two weeks after the incident, relatives of the kidnapped victims accused the federal government of insensitivity towards the plight of the victims.
Consequently, the relatives handed down a 72-hour ultimatum to the federal government to ensure the safe rescue of their beloved ones from the den of the terrorists. They said failure to listen to them would force them to decide on how to rescue their loved ones.
Still in the wilderness
Some of those taken into the forest by the kidnappers have been released in batches after ransom payments by their families.
The presidential promise
President Buhari had during a meeting with representatives of the victims of the Kaduna train abduction assured them that the federal government was doing everything within its powers to ensure the safe return of the remaining captives.
But despite the assurance coupled with an earlier directive, he handed on to security chiefs to hunt down the terrorists and rescue those abducted, 23 of the victims are still held captive by the terrorists in the forests.
In a statement, presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina quoted Buhari as saying, ‘‘I have been informed that at last count, there remain about 31 people in the hands of the kidnappers, and our determination is to work towards returning these 31 people to their families.
“It is understandable that emotions typically run high, we have received several suggestions about the deployment of lethal military force in extracting those still being held in captivity,” he said.
