The Federal Government has revealed that the Abuja-Kaduna train service will commence operations ‘soon’.
According to The PUNCH, this was disclosed by the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo on Friday.
This comes just 48 hours after the terrorists freed the last remaining 23 hostages.
On March 28, 2022, terrorists attacked a train carrying passengers between Abuja and Kaduna, killing eight and capturing 168.
Since then, the victims have been released one at a time, with the most recent group consisting of 23 people.
In response to earlier inquiries about the resumption of train service, the minister stated that doing so at this time would have been extremely callous, given the traumatized state of both the victims and their loved ones.
Sambo stated that both long-term and immediate steps were necessary to ensure the safety of passengers and employees before train service could be restored.
Noting that the government does not condone the payment of ransoms, the minister stressed that none had been paid to free the victims.
However, he stated that there is a committee comprised of former generals and high-ranking governmental personnel that assisted security agencies throughout the process of securing the victims’ release.
“Categorically, this government does not support ransom payment. No kobo was paid to secure the release of the 23 remaining victims and other ones as well.”
Furthermore, Sambo stated that victims were meant to be in Abuja today, specifically at the Ministry of Transportation, but they were traveling to hospitals to ensure their health.
The Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Magdalene Ajani also spoke, saying that all freed victims had access to health care services, including post-traumatic treatment, to ensure adequate recovery.
