Terrorists have released 11 out of the remaining 61 abducted passengers of the Abuja–Kaduna AK9 train after 75 days in captivity.
The train was attacked on March 28, 2022, in Kaduna State and the terrorists whisked away many of the passengers after killing nine persons.
Alhaji Tukur Mamu, the negotiator and media consultant to the Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, said the 11 victims were released on Saturday.
But the leader of the relatives of the abducted victims, Dr Abdulfatai Jimoh, told Sunday PUNCH that the families had yet to receive official communication on the release of the 11 victims.
Mamu, who is the publisher of a Kaduna-based newspaper, Desert Herald, stated that the release was achieved following a series of robust engagement with the terrorists and with him as the middleman and lead negotiator with the approval of the Federal Government.
The terrorists had threatened to commence the killing of the passengers if the government failed to meet their demands.
The demands included the unconditional release of their children being held in an orphanage in Adamawa State under the strict supervision of the Nigerian Army as well as their detained comrade at arms.
In the latest edition of the newspaper, the negotiator said contrary to “earlier commitment to release all the women in their custody, a total number of 11 victims were released on Saturday, June 11, 2022. They are six females and five males.”
Mamu identified the released victims to include Jessy John, Amina Ba’aba Mohammed (Gamba), Rashida Yusuf Busari, Hannah Ajewole and Amina Jibril.
Others are Najib Mohammed Daiharu, Gaius Gambo, Hassan Aliyu, Peace A. Boy and Danjuma Sa’idu. However, the name of the 11th victim was not disclosed.
According to him, those released have been flown to Abuja on the order of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for medical evaluation and treatment before they will be reunited with their families.
He quoted an insider to have confided in him that the male victims were released on health grounds as part of the request made by the negotiating team, while “the women, who are among the vulnerable, are part of the agreement reached with the abductors.”
Mamu said, “We have succeeded in building confidence now; we will do everything to sustain it in the interest of the innocent victims that are still in captivity. It’s a painful and frustrating process, but it must be done if we are to secure the precious lives of the remaining victims.
“The good news is that our collective efforts have succeeded in securing the release of 11 of the victims so far. With the continued support of the Federal Government, all the remaining victims will be released soon Insha Allah.
“President Buhari must be commended for understanding the gravity of the crisis and for giving directives to the security agencies. The CDS (Chief of Defence Staff), Gen Lucky Irabor, has done excellently well under the circumstance. The Army and the DSS have played crucial roles. There is no military solution to this predicament.
“But behind the scene, Sheikh Gumi, by Allah’s will, made it possible. He was involved from the day I started. In fact, I accepted that role because of his directive to that effect. Even the final arrangement of how and the safest place to get the victims was arranged and coordinated by him.”
