Families of passengers who were abducted in the Abuja-Kaduna train attack have issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Federal Government to secure their release.
They gave the ultimatum on Monday after a meeting, stating that if the government fails to do so they will take a decision on how to rescue their relatives on their own.
The attack on the Kaduna-Abuja rail which occurred on March 28 at Dutse forest in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State left eight people killed and 26 others injured while scores of passengers went missing – suspected to have been abducted by the bandits.
Two weeks after the victims went missing, their families are hopeful of freedom from captivity, although they have refused to rule out the option of negotiating with the bandits.
Dr Abdulfatai Jimoh, who chairs the group of the relatives of the abducted persons, wants the government to dialogue with the bandits as they have demanded in a recent viral video.
Dr Jimoh said by now, he expects that the government, the Nigerian Railway Corporation, and the Federal Ministry of Transportation, are supposed to have identified relatives of the victims to inform the public what effort have been made to rescue them.
“In fact, the primary duty of any government is to protect the lives and property of citizens. We believe our government can do it and it’s capable of doing it. Until a few days ago we had been expecting telephone calls from the abductors because that’s what they promised us but when we saw the video, they made it very clear that they want to discuss with the government; that they have something with the government.
“We don’t know what they want from the government. But it’s now an opportunity and a window for the government to rescue our loved ones by opening channel of communication with them (terrorists). This is not out of place. It is done anywhere in the world.”
They however appeal to Nigeria government to do everything in their power to ensure that there is an open channel of discussion with the bandits so as to get their loved ones back.
