ON March 28, 2022, a passenger aboard a train headed to Kaduna from Abuja, Chinelo Megafu, made a post via her Twitter handle that read, “I’m in the train. I have been shot please pray for me.”
The tweet was posted shortly after the train was attacked by gunmen who derailed the locomotive using improvised explosives and shooting sporadically.
Megafu subsequently died of the gunshot injuries sustained during the attack. Eight other passengers were also killed, many were injured, and about 65 others abducted.
The attack attracted public outrage and criticism of the government, and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) shut down operations on the Abuja-Kaduna train route.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Agriculture Alwan Ali-Hassan, one of the abductees, was released nine days after the incident.
In a video that went viral, the abductors claimed he was being released due to old age, his health and in the spirit of Ramadan.
But despite his ordeal at the hands of the terrorists, Alwan is regarded as one of the luckiest passengers on the train, as several others stayed in captivity for over six months.
Within the period, abductees were released in batches by the terrorists. Attempts by the NRC to resume operations along the route in May 2022 were resisted by the relatives of the abducted passengers, leading to a cancellation of resumption plans.
On different occasions, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the immediate rescue of the abducted train passengers, but the abductees remained in captivity for many months after the President’s directives.
The kidnappers shot one abductee in June 2022. The terrorists also released a video in which the passengers were being brutalised, sparking further outrage from the public, especially relatives of the abductees, who began to occupy government facilities in Abuja and Kaduna.
In Abuja, relatives of the abductees, including Amina Oniyangi, occupied the offices of the Ministry of Transportation 117 days after the abduction in protest against the prolonged stay in captivity.
Oniyangi’s brother, wife and children remained with their abductors until August 2022. The last group of abductees were released much later in October.
Speaking with The ICIR on Tuesday, March 28, Amina Oniyangi said her mother, who was in her 70s, died a few months after her brother was released. She believed that the emotional trauma the family endured during the period took its toll on her mother’s health.
“My brother and his wife are fine. They took it as God’s will, and bounced back, but it really affected our parents. We lost our mum last year, December 20th. She went through a lot during the period; fasting, midnight prayers, it really affected her, considering her age. But at the same time, that was God’s will. At least she saw them when they came out,” Oniyangi said.
For Imran Ahmed, whose brother was also abducted, the events of the past year remain indelible in his memory.
“We have moved on, he has gotten his life back and going about his business. But it has left a sour taste in the mouth,” Ahmed said.
The Abuja-Kaduna train services resumed services in December 2022.
Deputy Director of Operations, NRC, Akin Osinowo, assured Nigerians of safety, stating that the Federal Ministry of Transportation, in collaboration with the Corporation, had taken steps to enhance the security architecture along the railway.
He noted that technology and manpower had been improved to prevent a repeat of such attacks.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.