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| Freed kidnapped victims |
ABUJA, July 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Seven passengers kidnapped by terrorists from the Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28, have been released.
It was reported that the terrorists attacked the train, bombed a section of the rail track, killed 9 passengers, and abducted 62, including children.
Confirming the release, Malam Tukur Mamu, a member of the negotiating team and media consultant to Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Shiek Ahmad Gumi, said the victims were released on Saturday, July 9 based on dialogue and negotiations with the terrorists.
He told Channels Television in an interview that the freed passengers include the son of the Chairman of Northern Elders Forum, Professor Ango Abdullahi, Sadiq Abdullahi, Bosede Olurotimi, Abubakar Zubairu, and Alhassan Sule. Others are Muhammad Daiyabu Paki, Aliyu Usman and a Pakistani national, Dr. Muhammad Abuzar Afzal.
Mamu said; “That is why I keep emphasising that government has the power to end the agony of these innocent victims in one day.
“This is just one individual that sacrificed his life and even integrity. There is no military solution to the current security debacle in Nigeria. When you sincerely engage them, these guys even though wicked with misguided religious beliefs, they are listening. I have sufficient evidence to prove that they do listen. It is this power of engagement and sincerity that resulted in the release of these 7 victims.
“The location they (abductors) gave is remote, sensitive, and risky. There was a military checkpoint before penetrating the forest. My team was stopped by the soldiers but when they told the military our mission they contacted the GOC and he immediately gave approval for them to proceed. And after the victims were successfully evacuated, travelling through over 40 kilometers in the forest, they were given a military escort back to Kaduna at the checkpoint,” he said. — NNN-AGENCIES
