‘Unimaginable Trauma’

On 28 March, a group of armed men often referred to as bandits in media reports blew up the track on the Abuja-Kaduna train route and opened fire on passengers, killing eight people.

Written by Tomisin Awosika

Jun 14, 2022

A train at the Abuja Train Station. 22 March 2022. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS.

On Saturday, 11 June, the armed assailants who attacked a train in northwest Nigeria in March freed eleven of their hostages. The spokesman to the cleric acting as a mediator between the government and the attackers, Tukur Mamu, confirmed that six women and five men were released while 51 people were still captive.

Gbemisola Saraki, the minister of state for transportation, said in a statement late on Saturday that the government was working to ensure all the kidnapped passengers were released. The freed passengers were taken to a hospital in Abuja. Saraki did not say how and where they were released, or if ransom was paid.

According to the PUNCH the bandits had initially threatened to start killing the abducted passengers if the government failed to meet their demands. Part of their demands included the unconditional release of their detained children held in an orphanage home in Adamawa State under strict supervision of the Nigerian Army, as well as the release of their detained comrade at arms.

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About the Author

Tomisin Awosika

is a junior editor at The Republic.

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‘Unimaginable Trauma’