After over seven months in captivity, the 23 remaining captives of the March 28, 2022, Kaduna-Abuja train attack that claimed no fewer than eight lives have regained their freedom.
The heart-warming news was disclosed by the Secretary of the Chief of Defence Staff Action Committee, Usman Yusuf.
Yusuf said that the hostages were released at about 4:00p.m, on Wednesday.
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He added that the committee took custody of the victims who were kidnapped by Boko Haram terrorists during an attack on a moving passenger train in Kaduna on March 28, 2022.
The terrorists, who attacked the AK9 Train in Kaduna, had before now released hostages in batches with the last release being on August 19, 2022.
The insurgents had blown up the rail track and bombed the moving train, killing some and abducting more than 60 passengers. The unprecedented attack had attracted international and national outrage.
Distraught family members had protested several times to demand the release of their loved ones.
Worried about the situation, the Nigeria Railway Corporation temporarily suspended activities, with President Muhammadu Buhari directing security agencies to rescue the victims after he met their families.
The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, had said the Abuja-Kaduna rail line will not resume until all those kidnapped by bandits in March are rescued and reunited with their families.
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It would be recalled that a terrorist negotiator, Tukur Mamu, was on September 6, 2022, arrested in Cairo, Egypt while on his way to Saudi Arabia and returned to Nigeria the next day.
The Department of State Services (DSS) had alleged that Mamu, who negotiated between terrorists and families of kidnap victims, was part of an international terrorist network and used the cover of journalism to perpetrate his deeds.