Terrorists who attacked the Nigerian Railway Corporation train carrying over 900 passengers from Abuja to Kaduna on Monday evening have abducted some of the stranded passengers, SaharaReporters has learnt.
SaharaReporters obtained victims’ accounts which confirmed that some other persons were shot dead by the rampaging terrorists who operated for hours due to the absence of the Nigerian military and other security agencies.
“Some people have, and the bandits kidnapped several persons,” a woman on the train confirmed to SaharaReporters.
“The army hasn’t been able to secure the area but people are running towards them in a staging area,” another source added.
Cleaners and workers of the train known as Loretta and Abdul along with some security personnel and some passengers have been confirmed dead.
However, the names of some of the casualties are yet to be out.
SaharaReporters learnt that a lot of the passengers were injured or abducted.
In a Facebook post, another passenger, Anas Danmusa, said, “Please this is an emergency. We are inside the train at the moment.
Kidnappers planted explosives and the train engines have been ruined. We are helpless. Abuja to Kaduna train; gunshots still being fired around us. We are just under the seats praying to God while waiting for help. Since 8pm we have been here/ between Katari to Rijana; I am a living witness.”
He later added, “We are safe now.”
SaharaReporters earlier reported that the NRC could not yet reach its driver nor its engineers onboard the ill-fated train, adding to the anxiety of the already distressed passengers.
“The management of the Nigeria Railway Corporation claims they haven’t been able to speak with the train engineers and the driver. The train was travelling to Kaduna and was already 45 minutes from Rigasa Police Station.
“Even though the Nigeria Army states they’ve arrived and secured the trains and passengers, the management still hasn’t been able to touch base with the crew. They are not sure if military secured or not.
“They are on standby to send another coach from Abuja. The train tracks were bombed and the train was derailed. The terrorists derailed the whole train,” one of the sources explained.
SaharaReporters also reported that the attack was still ongoing as of 9.42pm press time, while security agencies had yet to deploy to the scene.
One of the passengers who confirmed the incident in a telephone call said the attackers had surrounded the train and were shooting sporadically.
“All the passengers are currently lying on the floor of the train. The bandits are shooting sporadically. We are in serious danger,” said one of the panic-stricken passengers.
There are at least 970 passengers onboard the train, according to official sources familiar with the train service.
SAHARA REPORTERS
