By Chinelo Obogo

Terrorists have released four of the passengers kidnapped from the Abuja-Kaduna train in March, Daily Sun has learned.

The victims were released by 11am yesterday, at a location inside the forest along the Kaduna – Abuja highway, and were picked up by their relatives. It could not be confirmed if any ransom was paid for their release although sources claimed that N100 million ransom was paid for each of them.

The development followed a video released in the early hours of Sunday, showing the kidnapped passengers sitting on the floor and surrounded by their kidnappers who were brutalising them. The terrorists also threatened to kidnap high profile Nigerians, but the presidency reacted to the threat hours after, accusing the terrorists of using propaganda to compel the government to yield to their demands.

In a statement, yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said security forces were not helpless in stemming the tide of insecurity confronting the country.

He said: “The Presidency, in the meantime, wishes to reassure the public that the president has done all, and even more than what is expected of him as Commander-in-Chief by way of morale, material and equipment support to the military, and expects nothing short of good results in the immediate.”

Meanwhile, Tukur Mamu, an aide to popular Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, who has been involved in negotiations for the release of the captives, confirmed the release of the four abducted passengers.

Although Mamu did not give details of how the victims were released, he, however, gave the names of the four who regained their freedom yesterday as Gladys Brumen, Oluwatoyin Ojo, Hassan Lawan, and Ayodeji Oyewumi.

About 30 passengers on the ill-fated train are still being held captive by the terrorists, while more than 20 of the victims have been freed, with some of them believed to have paid millions of naira as ransom.

On March 28, 2022, terrorists attacked a train going to Kaduna from Abuja, killed eight people, injured many, and kidnapped over 60 passengers on board the train. Eleven of the 61 remaining abducted people were released following a negotiation with the terrorists in June.

Thereafter, the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) temporarily suspended activities while President Muhammadu Buhari directed the security agencies to rescue the victims.