The 23 remaining persons among the 61 train passengers abducted during an attack on a passenger train in March have been released, according to a statement released by the Chief of Defense Staff Action Committee (CDSAC) on Wednesday.
The statement signed by the Secretary, Prof. Usman Yusuf, attributed the release of the abductees to a military operation conceived and executed under the leadership of the Chief of Defense Staff.
“I am pleased to announce to the nation and the world that at 1600Hrs. (4:00pm) today, Wednesday 5-10-2022, the seven-man Presidential Committee assembled by the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), General L E O Irabor, secured the release and took custody of all the 23 remaining passengers held hostage by Boko Haram Terrorists following the attack on the Abuja to Kaduna train on 28-3-2022.
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“The nation owes a debt of gratitude to the Nigerian Military under the leadership of the CDS who conceived and guided the operation from start to finish. All sister Security Agencies and the Federal Ministry of Transportation contributed immensely to this Operation.
“The unwavering support of the President and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR is what made it all possible. Members of this Committee are grateful for the rare honour and privilege to be part of this Humanitarian Operation,” the statement said.
Although it took more than six months before the government finally secured their release, the families of the kidnapped victims have expressed their gratitude.
However, questions about the government’s capability to prevent such a heinous crime from happening again remain. In the past seven years, the federal government of Nigeria has invested more than N10.02 trillion on the fight against insecurity, according to BudgIT, an NGO tracking governments’ expenditures. But it has failed to curtail rising cases of terrorists’ attacks and kidnappings.
Not quite long after Boko Haram terrorists attacked the Kaduna bound train and abducted several passengers, a medium prison was breached in Abuja, the nation’s capital, freeing hundreds of inmates. More than 400 escapees, who are said to be criminals, are still at large.
Most of the train attack victims paid millions of naira in ransom to the terrorists before they were freed. The government, which had been in negotiation with the terrorists since the abduction, is believed to have also paid ransom for the release of the remaining 23 victims.
The terrorists had earlier demanded that the government free their children and members in its custody as part of the negotiation to release the train passengers. The demand is said to be an integral part of the dialogue that led to the release of 11 of the abductees in June. The government did not admit or deny it.
With the highways still unsafe due to increase in abductions, Nigerians have been left to protect themselves against criminals. Apart from heeding security experts’ advice to embark on road trips only when it’s necessary, Nigerians have learnt to put ransom into consideration whenever they’re traveling.
The geo-political zones of the country have created their own security outfits as a sign that the government security agencies have become totally helpless as insecurity rages, but that has also failed to ameliorate the problem.