One of the two pregnant women who were kidnapped during the Abuja-Kaduna train attack has delivered a baby in the kidnappers’ den.
Gatekeepers News reports that the train was attacked on March 28 in the Kateri-Rijana area of Kaduna. About nine passengers were killed, some were left injured and others were kidnapped during the attack.
A family source confirmed to ARISE Television that one of the two pregnant women among the kidnapped victims, had given birth in the terrorists’ den at the weekend with the help of medical personnel invited by the gang. She was reportedly eight months pregnant at the time of the attack. The baby’s condition is, however, unknown.
Meanwhile, the terrorists, according to reports, have maintained that they are not after a ransom, but want an exchange of the abducted passengers with their commanders who are allegedly in government custody.
“According to reports by family sources, she gave birth with the aid of doctors brought in by the terrorists. We can also report that the terrorists are demanding the release of their top commanders in exchange for the abducted train passengers.
“According to sources, the terrorists are Kanuri speaking, suggesting that were from the North-east region and backed by the deadly Islamic state group- ISWAP,” the Arise report noted.
Families of the victims have written the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Munguno (rtd), demanding a status report on the state of their loved ones.
In the letter dated 25 April and jointly signed by Aliyu Mahmood, Idayat Yusuf, Aminu Othman and Dr. Baaba Muhammed on behalf of the victims’ families, they lamented that they had been left in the dark by the authorities.
“We, the families of victims of the Nigerian Railway Corporation train attack Ak9 departing from Abuja on 28th of March 2022 to Rigasa Kaduna have come together on behalf of the victims that are in captivity.
“We write to express our concern that there is no representation from government to communicate with us on the status of our loved ones . Even though we know the information may be of confidential nature, but nonetheless, families need to be reassured and be carried along in a safe manner to ensure their release from captivity safely.
“We humbly request for your facilitation to ensure that the federal government is in touch with the victims families. Thanking you in anticipation,” the letter read.
The Kaduna State government had recently approved the disbursement of N18 million to families of nine persons killed in the attack, saying it wasn’t compensation but some kind of support.
Muhammed Mukaddas, the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (KADSEMA), disclosed that the governor also approved the disbursement of N250, 000 each to 22 persons severely wounded during the train attack.
