Victor EzejaThe orgy of successful attacks on the Abuja-Kaduna rail route by ‘bandits’, now branded terrorists, is a major concern to Nigerians. In less than 72 hours, terrorists believed to be Fulani of non-Nigeria origin, have launched at least three ‘successful’ attacks on the Kaduna rail system leaving without major resistance.
Prior to the Monday night attack on a Kaduna-bound train, the terrorists had, at the weekend, attacked an airport. This was followed up with another attack on Tuesday at the Kaduna-Abuja Highway where they kidnapped some travellers.
The attack on the train going to Kaduna from Abuja by terrorists on Monday night has once again thrown the country into another round of insecurity fix, given the menace of hoodlums on the Abuja-Kaduna axis.
The terrorists were said to have laid explosives along the rail track which blew up the lines and forced the train to stop, giving them opportunity to kidnap, kill and injure as many passengers as they could.
According to a document released by the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), there were 398 persons who bought ticket, but 362 were validated as having boarded the train.
A statement signed by the Kaduna State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, eight bodies were recovered and 26 persons injured during the attack which happened around 7 p.m. at Dutse village in Chikun Local Government Area, a few kilometres from the Rigasa train station which is the last transit point of the train.
So far, many are reportedly missing.
The commissioner said, “Investigations are still ongoing to ascertain the status of the passengers who were on board the train and remain unaccounted for at the time of this update.”
Many Nigerians have taken to social media to express their frustrations about the activities of bandit terrorists, at the Abuja-Kaduna axis.
One of them, JJ. Omojuwa @Omojuwa wrote on Twitter: “The Abuja-Kaduna train getting attacked doesn’t bode well. Clearly, the bandits are trying to get people back to traveling by road. I hope the Nigerian Army prioritises these terrorists. They are now more dangerous than BH.”
Another Twitter user also wrote: “Abuja is too comfortable for all the danger that surrounds it. Worse still is reducing these incidents with the word ‘bandits’. The handwriting on the wall is too clear for anyone not to see.”
Some of the victims also took to social media to report while the attack was going on.
A female doctor, Chinelo who was shot by the terrorists, tweeted about it, but received negative responses by people who thought she was lying, only to get to know it was true, hours later when she died of injuries sustained from the attack.
Here is the tweet from Chinelo and the responses.
Reacting to the the brutal attack on the Kaduna-bound train, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi lamented that lives lost could have been saved if his request for funds to procure digital security equipment was approved.
Amaechi gave the hint through a post on his Facebook page on Tuesday. He wrote, “I am devastated and I honestly don’t know what to tell Nigerians anymore; the process of procuring the integrated security surveillance and monitoring solution has been tedious, if the processes were shortened, we would have saved lives.”
The minister who had earlier visited scene of the attack on the train, posted a video of his visit.
He had while briefing newsmen during the visit, said his ministry had taken some steps to avert such an attack, but was unable to secure the needed fund to make it happen.
The minister disclosed that the cost of procuring the equipment -high capacity rail track cameras and sensors- was around N3 billion, which according to him, would have helped in foiling the attack if the funding was not blocked.
He said, “We knew what the problems will be. We know we needed to have digital security equipment on the corridors. We applied for it. Let me just stop here so I don’t hurt so many people. But I heard the president has given a directive that the procurement must be completed immediately.
“If we had those equipment on the tracks, you will see the entire track. And we warned that lives would be lost. Now lives were lost. Eight persons dead and 25 persons in the hospital. We don’t know how many people have been kidnapped. And the cost of those equipment is just N3bn. The cost of what we have lost is more than N3bn.
“We have lost track. We have lost locomotives and coaches. We have lost human beings. And the equipment is just N3bn.
The minister estimated that to fix damages caused by the attack will cost more than N3bn.
“To imagine that we just said give us the approval and not even the money. At the time we asked for it, Dollar was N400, and now its about N500. When you come with sincerity to government and people are stopping you, it is annoying,” Amaechi lamented.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has met with service chiefs and directed them to work hard and fish out the perpetrators, adding that they should not spare anyone found to be unlawfully possessing AK47 weapon.
According to a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari also ordered immediate conclusion of all processes leading to implementation of full integrated security surveillance on the Abuja-Kaduna railway.
The president also ordered speedy repair of damaged rail lines by the management of Nigerian Railway Corporation so that normalcy can be restored in services along the route.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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