President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met with relatives of the kidnapped Abuja-Kaduna train passengers at the Aso villa.
The meeting was announced in a terse tweet by the Presidency on Thursday.
It reads, ““President #MBuhari is meeting with representatives of victims of the Abuja-Kaduna Train abduction.”
President @MBuhari is meeting with representatives of victims of the Abuja-Kaduna Train abduction.
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) August 11, 2022
The train, which was travelling from Abuja to Kaduna, was attacked on March 28, and several persons were killed, others sustained injuries, while over 50 people were kidnapped.
Some of the victims have been released while many more are still held captive by the terrorists.
On Wednesday that terrorists released seven more hostages, including a family of six and a woman.
The identities of the family of six are the father, Abdubakar Garba; his wife, Maryam; and their 10-year-old son, Ibrahim; Fatima (7); Imran (5); and Zainab, who is one-and-a-half-year-old.
Garba, who is a staff member of the National Assembly Service Commission, is the son of a former Military Administrator in Kano and Benue States.
Also released is a 60-year-old woman, Aisha Hassan, who was said to have been released due to life-threatening health challenges that deteriorated recently.
The Federal Government assured that securing the release of passengers still held captive by terrorists remains a priority.
The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, stated this while addressing families of the victims. The families of the victims had led a peaceful protest to the ministry demanding the release of their loved ones.
“The government has not been sleeping from the enquiries I have made. There are some things you do not say in public, but I want you to give me time,” the minister stated in a statement issued in Abuja by the transportation ministry.
He added, “Let me resume properly in this office and I promise you, this will be the first issue I am going to tackle by the grace of God.”
Sambo requested the contacts, names, addresses, and telephone numbers that he could reach, promising that he would be in constant engagement until every single person in captivity regained freedom and reunited with their families.
