The bandits who attacked the Kaduna bound Abuja train on Monday night were young teenage boys, who shot at anybody who did not follow their instructions or attempted to escape, a survivor of the attack said.
A young graduate, Maimuna Ibrahim, who was shot on her leg, said the bandits could not have been more than 20 years old.
She said, “I didn’t sit by the window side, I was inside; the bandits entered the train, but they didn’t reach my own side, it was bullets that just hit people which also hit me. This is my leg where a bullet entered, though it didn’t touch my bone; that is the only thing I can remember.
“I know that we suffered, but again we are thankful to the Nigerian Army and the Police; they really helped us because they came to our rescue and brought us to the hospital.
“They are young guys – small boys; they should be between 18 and 20 years of age, and they are like Fulani, but not Nigerians. Some of them had turbans on their heads and were chanting Allahu Akbar. We even saw them abducting some of the passengers.
“I am a graduate; I went for a workshop in Abuja. The hospital told me that there is no bullet in the leg. The treatment here was okay because on Monday I could not walk, but I was able to move the leg on Tuesday.”
‘How I escaped’
Another survivor, Malam Mohammed Ishaq, said he escaped from the bandits by running away to another coach to hide when he realised that the bandits were about to enter the train.
Ishaq, who sustained injuries on his arm, said the attack took place about 30 minutes to Rigasa.
“It happened at exactly 7:35pm. We were on board the train from Abuja to Kaduna; I think it’s around Jere, but you know it was dark, so I can’t say exactly where.
“We heard that loud sound of something that blew up, they didn’t target any coach; they were just looking for how to gain access into the train because it was from far away that they started shooting.
“They were speaking in Hausa, but they are Fulani. One was telling the other to use the gun to break the door, and then they started shooting at the door. I saw two people dead.
“I heard they were asking everybody to come out, and I left many people behind me when I ran and they said the bandits went away with some people. I don’t know how many people were taken away. It took like one and half hours before the soldiers came. Later, when the soldiers chased the bandits away, we went back to where we were seated to carry out luggage and I met people on the floor lying helplessly; they were dead already.
“When I carried my luggage, we followed the soldiers and they took us to where the buses were; they brought us to this hospital.”
