Eighty-five days after passengers on the Abuja-Kaduna train were attacked, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), ordered security and intelligence agencies to secure their release.
The PUNCH reports that passengers travelling from Abuja to Kaduna by rail were attacked by gunmen who killed about eight persons with scores injured while over 60 others were kidnapped on March 28, 2022.
In a statement via his official Twitter handle, Buhari said all hostages still held by the terrorist must be rescued and returned to their families alive.
He said, “I have directed our security and intelligence agencies to scale up and speed up efforts to secure the safe release of all the remaining abducted Abuja-Kaduna train passengers. My directive is very clear: All hostages must be brought home ALIVE, and as soon as possible.
“I welcome the safe return of the recently-released passengers, to their families and loved ones. I am reiterating my solemn pledge to the families of those still in captivity: we will not relent until every single hostage is safely back home with their families.”
Since their abduction, the terrorists have released some of the hostages including a pregnant woman and Sadiq Ango Abdullahi, the son of the Chairman of Northern Elders Forum, Prof Ango Abdullahi.