“One of the women seated with a baby in her arms in that ill-fated train was calling for mercy. She had an aged mother by her side and was pleading that she brought the mother for medical attention in Abuja. She was pleading for mercy. Instead of giving mercy, she had her head shattered right before other travelers in that train.”
By Emma Ogbuehi
The gory details of the attack launched on the Kaduna-bound train on Monday evening continued to emerge on Tuesday.
The stories are ugly, animalistic and scary.
Further details emerged on the floor of the Senate during plenary on Tuesday when Senators recounted stories told them by their constituents, victims of the attack.
Many of the victims never survived the attack. Most had sent out passionate messages of help before they were killed like the young medical doctor, Chinelo Megafu Nwando.
Young Dr. Nwando, a staff at the St. Gerald’s Hospital in Kaduna, had tweeted, “I’m in the train, I have been shot. Please pray for me,” shortly after the train from Abuja to Kaduna was attacked by terrorists.
She died hours after she made the post on Twitter.
On Tuesday, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) confirmed her death in a statement.
“The President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof (Dr) Innocent A O Ujah, FNMA, FNAmed, mni and indeed all Medical and Dental Practitioners under the auspices of NMA are deeply saddened by the tragic, horrific and preventable death of one of our members, Dr Chinelo Megafu Nwando, who is reported to have lost her life from injuries sustained from gun shots when the train she travelled in from Abuja to Kaduna was attacked by suspected bandits,” the statement read.
On the floor of the Senate during plenary on Tuesday, another gory details was given of how a woman was gruesomely murdered by the terrorists after pleading for her life.
Senator Abdu Kwari, who represents Kaduna North senatorial district in the red chamber, gave a graphic account of the horrible experiences of passengers in the ill-fated train.
Kwari spoke while contributing to a motion titled: “The continuing attacks on communities and public facilities in Kaduna State.”
READ ALSO: TUC Sec-Gen, Ozigi, killed in Abuja-Kaduna train attack
The motion was sponsored by Senator Uba Sani (Kaduna Central).
Kwari lamented that the bandits shattered the head of a nursing mother who was also with her aged mother despite her repeated plea for mercy.
Kwari said: “What is happening today is to say the least very pathetic. And what was experienced yesterday in Kaduna is something that you will not wish even the worst of your enemies.
“We found ourselves yesterday entangled having live chats with people that were caught in the unfortunate incident and it was really scary.
“Mr. President, one of the women seated with a baby in her arms in that ill-fated train was calling for mercy. She had an aged mother by her side and was pleading that she brought the mother for medical attention in Abuja.
“She was pleading for mercy. Instead of giving mercy, Mr President, she had her head shattered right before other travelers in that train.
“Fortunately some of the military personnel that were inside the train had to induct some people the act of crawling that was what saved the disastrous outing of that train and many of them crawled from the VIP coaches to the economy coaches and that is why the casualties recorded were reduced.
“Unfortunately the drones and other advanced technologies that have been advocated for on this floor in this Chamber have not yet been acquired by the government and the response time was also not good enough for a country like Nigeria.
“We ought to as a country be doing better than we did. We need to get our acts together to ensure that peace comes to our country at this very point in time.”
Senator Gabriel Suswam (Benue North-East) lamented that Kaduna had become the new theatre of insecurity.
He said the lingering activities of terrorists in the state make it imperative for the appropriate authorities to take decisive action.
The lawmaker attributed the inability by the military to curtail growing incidents of terrorism to “a clear failure of leadership.”
Senator Sani, in his lead debate, said the Senate: “Notes also that bandits attacked a Kaduna bound train carrying over 970 passengers around Kateri – Rijana axis in Kaduna, just a few kilometers to the Rigasa Train Station in Igabi Local Government Area of the State. The train derailed after the first wave of attacks.
“Grenades and RPG were used. They rained bullets on all the coaches. Some passengers were killed, while many sustained bullet wounds. There are reports that some of the passengers were abducted.
“The terrified passengers only breathed a sigh of relief when security agencies arrived and secured the train and the area. It’s been a reign of undiluted terror.”
