Seven more kidnapped victims of the Kaduna state train incident on March 28 have regained their freedom. After spending 135 days in the terrorists’ hands, the victims were freed on Wednesday morning.
However, it is unclear whether a ransom was paid to the terrorists in exchange for their release. Tukur Mamu, a member of the negotiation team, informed newsmen that six of the released hostages are members of the same family, which includes a couple and their four children. The police authorities have not yet confirmed the development.
Abubakar, the father of the four children, is a staff member of the National Assembly Commission and the son of Major General Chris Garba, a former military administrator of the states of Kano and Benue.
The terrorists also freed a 60-year-old woman named Hajia Aisha Hassan, who was alleged to have been released because of recently deteriorating life-threatening health issues.
The four children’s father, Abubakar Idris Garba, his wife, Maryama Abubakar Bobbo, and their 10-year-old son, Ibrahim Abubakar Garba, are among the six family members whose names have been made public.
Others are Imran Abubakar Garba, 5, Fatima Abubakar Garba, 7, and Zainab Abubakar Garba, the youngest of whom is only one and a half years old.
42 victims have so far reclaimed their freedom. 35 people are still being held captive as of right now.
On March 28, gunmen detonated a rail track, killing some and kidnapping dozens of passengers. This incident raised major questions about the safety of the nation’s trains.
The release on Wednesday comes a few days after the militants released five other passengers from the kidnapped train headed for Kaduna.
The victims include Sidi Aminu Sharif, Akibu Lawal, Abubakar Ahmed Rufai Mukthar Shu’aibu, and Professor Mustapha Umar Imam, a physician at Usman Dan Fodio University Teaching Hospital in Sokoto.