Remaining Hostages Freed From Nigeria Train Attack

The remaining passengers taken hostage in March after gunmen bombed and attacked a train in northwest Nigeria have been freed, government and security officials said on Wednesday

Lagos, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Oct, 2022 ) :The remaining passengers taken hostage in March after gunmen bombed and attacked a train in northwest Nigeria have been freed, government and security officials said on Wednesday.

Gunmen blew up the tracks and assaulted the train travelling between the capital Abuja and Kaduna, killing eight people and kidnapping dozens in one of the most high-profile attacks this year.

"All 23 kidnapped victims of the ill-fated Kaduna train mishap released," Transport Minister Mu'azu Jaji Sambo said on Twitter.

A team had secured the release and took custody of passengers "held hostage by Boko Haram Terrorists following the attack on the Abuja to Kaduna train," a statement from a military committee said, without giving details on how they were freed.

Kaduna state security commissioner Samuel Aruwan confirmed the hostage release.

Security is a major concern for Nigerians as the country prepares for February elections to replace President Muhammadu Buhari, a former army general who is stepping down after two terms leading Africa's most populous country.

No group claimed the March 28 train attack though officials have blamed militants cooperating with heavily armed criminal gangs who terrorise parts of northwest and central Nigeria with looting raids and mass abductions.