TheCable

Insurgents who abducted passengers of the Kaduna-bound train in March “jubilated wildly” when their comrades who escaped from Kuje prison returned to their enclave. 

Gunmen had attacked the Kuje prison in the federal capital territory (FCT) with explosives last Tuesday.

Bashir Magashi, minister of defence, had said all Boko Haram suspects who were held in the facility escaped. The federal government subsequently declared them wanted and published their names and photos. 

Days after the raid on the correctional facility in the nation’s capital, seven abducted passengers of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack were freed by their abductors who reportedly carried out the offensive on the prison.

According to Daily Trust, sources who are close to the freed passengers said there was “wild jubilation” at the insurgents’ enclave when their members who escaped from the prison returned to the camp.

The newspaper said N800 million was paid by families of the captives before they were freed.

Those identified as the freed passengers are Muhammad Paki, Bosede Olurotimi, Abubakar Zubairu, Alhassan Sule, Sadiq Ango Abdullahi, Aliyu Usman and Muhammad Abuzar Afzal, a Pakistani.

Abdulfatai Jimoh, coordinator of the families of the abducted passengers, had confirmed the release of the seven victims to TheCable.

On March 28, a train on its way from Abuja was attacked by the insurgents in Kaduna. Several persons were killed, dozens injured, while others were abducted.