Train attack: Victims’ families plan street protests, occupation of government facilities

The families of the kidnapped victims of Abuja – Kaduna train have vowed to embark on street protests and occupy key government facilities in Abuja and Kaduna to drive home their demand for the rescue of their loved ones.

The attack on the Abuja-Kaduna AK-9 train, which led to the killing of nine and abduction of 63 passengers, will clock 100 days on Tuesday with the  remaining captives.

The kidnapped passengers’ family members told journalist in Kaduna on Thursday that they were worried and scared of losing their families in the terrorists’ captivity especially with reports of snake bites and gunshot injury the captives were said to have suffered.

Spokesman of the families, Dr Abdulaziz Atta, whose aged mother and sister are in the terrorists’ captivity said members of victims’ families would be staging a sit-down and occupy protest at public facilities until their loved ones are rescued.

“We read report that one of our loved ones, Al-Amin was shot and that, it was an accidental discharge by one of the non-state actors guarding our loved ones, but the key question now is the state of health of the person that has gunshot wounds. 

“There is no antibiotics, nobody to remove the bullets from his body, just imagine the current situation he will be in the bush. He needs urgent support, if he is not brought out of the bush, we may loose him. We are seeing some of the outcomes of the government’s efforts. We have seen 11 of our loved ones that have been released, and from the press statement that was released from Garba Shehu on behalf of the President, he made it clear that their children were released to them for us to have our loved ones. 

“We heard it from the highest authority, we know that government is working on it, yes they are working on it, but what we are demanding is that they should hasten their release, every single moment they spend in the bush is dangerous. Government need to do more, we want our loved ones out, we have kids as you have heard earlier on, as young as three years old and from the feedback we had, these kids are unattended to, we have women injured, we have aged women and men, those people should be brought out.

“By next week Tuesday, which is going to be 100 days that they have been in captive, we are planning to do a physical protest. We will be siting in key government facilities, we planned to sit there till our loved ones are out. So, we are changing our strategies, we will change our strategies from the media conference, the media have been excellent to us, but now we are going to move out physically for people to see us on the streets,” he said.

One of the female family members, Hajiya Fatima Ciroma said, the past 94 days have been days of the victims living in fear, without sleep, wearing the same clothes, under the scorching sun and rain, and exposed to all sorts of hazards.