Terrorists have released 11 out of the 61 persons abducted during the March 28 Abuja-Kaduna train attack.
Their release was facilitated through mediation led by Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, who has been working as a middleman between the Nigerian government and the terrorists. His spokesperson, Mallam Tukur Mamu, disclosed the development to the media on Saturday.
Mamu said that the victims, who were released on health grounds, have been flown to Abuja, the nation’s capital for urgent medical treatment. He explained that while the male victims were released on health grounds as part of the request made by the negotiating team, the women who are among the vulnerable ones are part of the agreement reached with the abductors.
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The names of those freed are as follows: Jessy John, Amina Ba’aba Mohammed (Gamba), Rashida Yusuf Busari and Hannah Ajewole. Others include Najib Mohammed Daiharu, Gaius Gambo, Hassan Aliyu, Peace A. Boy and Danjuma Sa’idu.
Though part of the early negotiation was that all the kidnapped women would be released in the first batch, only five were allowed by the terrorists to go.
A source quoted by Vanguard explained why.
“It was expected initially that all the abducted women will be released in the first batch while negotiations for the release of the remaining victims will continue but according to another source that was privy to Saturday’s engagement with the abductors, they decided to cut down the number of women they initially agreed to release because of FG’s demand to include those with life threatening injuries/illnesses among the ones they released.
“The abductors have initially insisted that the only condition they will accept to start negotiating the release of their victims is when government release their teenage children unconditionally but Mamu insisted that no government will accept such bargain as they must also show signs of goodwill and make acceptable compromises too by way of releasing some of the victims,” the source said.
Mamu didn’t give details of the process that yielded the freedom of the 11, but he revealed that some retired army generals and a renowned professor at the Usman Dan-Fodio University, Sokoto were among the team of experts that contributed in facilitating the mediation and success of the release.
He credited the success of the dialogue to Sheik Gumi, whom he said worked tirelessly behind the scene.
“He was involved from the day I started. In fact, I accepted that role because of his directives to that effect. Even the final arrangement of how and the safest place to get the victims was arranged and coordinated by him,” he said.
An integral part of the dialogue between the government and the terrorists is the release of the terrorists’ children. However, it is not clear if the government yielded to the demand which also includes ransom payment for the victims.
Mamu said that only the government can answer the question, asking the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to use the open channel to secure the freedom of the remaining victims.
“We are only concerned stakeholders with the privilege to compliment government efforts but I can assure you and I can confirm that no money is involved. I believe the urgent priority now for the government and us is how to safely secure the release of the remaining victims,” he said.
“I believe FG can now explore this opportunity to ensure that the remaining victims are released in good time. Even though the release of the eleven victims is a huge milestone I’m personally disappointed that they failed to give us all the women as we earlier agreed. But I believe even if it’s one life we succeeded in securing the reward is unquantifiable before Allah,” he added.
The attack, which led to the abduction occurred on March 28 at Dutse forest in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, leaving eight people killed and 26 others injured while scores of passengers went missing.
While the release of the 11 is good news to their families and offers hope for the return of several others, the question remains; how long will the government continue to act vulnerable in the face of insecurity in the country?
As of early last year, the Buhari’s administration has spent N8 trillion on security, budgeting an average of N1.3 trillion since 2015. The huge security funding has done little to quell the situation of insecurity in Nigeria that has kept rising year on year, giving birth to new groups of terrorists that have succeeded in turning terrorism into a lucrative enterprise.