President Muhammadu Buhari meets with the freed train attack victims in Kaduna State.
BY Emma Ogbuehi
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met with the 23 released victims of the March 28, 2022 Abuja-Kaduna train attack.
Buhari met the victims at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) hospital in Kaduna about 24 hours after their release on Wednesday.
According to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, Buhari made an impromptu visit to the hospital to see the victims of the train attack after commissioning Cadets of 69 Regular Course (Army, Navy and Air Force) of the NDA, in Afaka, Kaduna State.
Before boarding NAF 001 back to Abuja from the Kaduna International Airport, Buhari made a detour to the hospital, where he also thanked the Nigerian military for their brave services in securing the safe release of the hostages from Boko Haram terrorists.
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Members of the Chief of Defence Staff Action Committee, led by Maj.-Gen. Usman Abdulkadir (Rtd), who facilitated the release of the hostages, were present at the hospital. Others are Major General Adamu Jalingo (rtd), Brig.-Gen. Abubakar Saad (rtd), Dr. Murtala Ahmed Rufai, Ibrahim Abdulllahi, Ambassador Ahmed Magaji and Prof Yusuf Usman, Secretary.
Earlier, the President was in Afaka, Kaduna State at the passing-out parade and commissioning ceremony of cadets of Regular Course 69 of the Nigerian Defence Academy.
The passengers were kidnapped when an Abuja- Kaduna-bound train was attacked on Monday, March 28. Various figures were bandied on the number of passengers affected. Kaduna state government and the then Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, however declared that the number of passengers on the train’s manifest was 398.
There were also conflicting account on the number of victims. Military sources however claim that eight passengers were dead and 41 injured. Some of the hostages had been released by their captors in batches. Six months after, the remaining passengers were freed from captivity.