Kaduna state government in conjunction with security agencies, the Nigerian Red Cross and others have concluded evacuation of passengers of Abuja-Kaduna train that was attacked by bandits on Monday night.
The 6pm train was attacked between Kateri and Rijana where a portion of the rail track was bombed with an improvised explosive device (IED) following which there were reported barrage of gunshots as security agencies arrived the scene to rescue the passengers.
It was however, not clear if the bandits succeeded in abducting any of the passengers.
Kaduna state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, said in a statement on Tuesday that the passengers were evacuated from different difficult terrains in the forests and rocky locations in Audujongom, off the Kaduna-Abuja highway.
He said, “Evacuation of passengers on the trapped Kaduna-bound train from Abuja has been concluded this morning by security forces, officials of Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and Nigerian Red Cross.
“Passengers who sustained injuries, and other fatalities, have been moved to hospitals. The passengers were evacuated from different hard-to-reach areas in forests and rocky locations in Audujongom, off the Kaduna-Abuja Road.
“As stated yesterday, the Kaduna state government is still liaising with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to ascertain the list from the passengers manifest for efficient tracking.
“Governor Nasir el-Rufai, who commended all those who participated in the evacuation, appealed to the hospitals to attend to the victims diligently. The Governor also directed the Ministry of Health to be in contact with the hospitals as government will bear the cost of their treatment.
“As of the time of this update, search-and-rescue operations are in progress.”
