‘FG not sleeping’ — minister speaks on efforts to rescue remaining Kaduna train passengers

The federal government says it will do all it can to rescue persons abducted during the train attack that occurred in Kaduna.

On March 28, a Kaduna-bound train was attacked by gunmen, with several persons killed, injured and abducted.

While some captives have regained their freedom, a video which surfaced over the weekend showed some of the abducted persons being flogged by armed men.

Following the development, relatives of the victims protested on Monday at the premises of the ministry of transportation in Abuja.

Addressing the relatives, Mu’azu Sambo, minister of transportation, said the federal government remains committed to rescuing the remaining abducted passengers.

“Let me resume properly in this office and I promise you that this will be the first matter I’m going to tackle by the grace of God,” Sambo said.

“I’ve asked God to guide me to lead me in this assignment and I know God will not fail me, God will not fail Nigerians, and God will not fail the president because the president means well for this country.

“All of us know that. It is for us who are supporting him who are in government to help him to make sure that every citizen is catered for, every citizen enjoys the rights as enshrined in the constitution.

“You have been very patient. The government itself has not been sleeping from enquiries I have made.”

Sambo was appointed as minister of transportation on July 6 following a cabinet reshuffle.

On his part, Ahmad Ibrahim, a relative of an abducted passenger, told TheCable that they are protesting at the ministry because government has not done enough to secure the release of the captives.

“We are here to protest against the fact that the government is doing nothing about the kidnapped Abuja-Kaduna passengers,” Ibrahim said.

“We have loved ones that have been in captivity for 119 days to be precise, and it’s not fair because we don’t know what circumstances they are facing over there. We don’t have a clue about how they eat, how they sleep; we have no information about them literally.

“There was a video that was uploaded on the internet and we saw that the passengers were being flogged. It’s a very unfortunate situation and may God help all of us, because it could have happened to any of us at any time.

“I would love for the government to do something. I would love for the minister of transportation to tell us how it’s going to be possible to get our families back.”

Meanwhile, on Monday, four of the passengers still in captivity regained their freedom.