Families and friends of the abdcuted passengers of the Abuja-Kaduna train on Wednesday appealed to the Federal Government to hasten efforts towards the release of the remaining 50 victims who had so far spent 77 days in abduction.
They expressed concern over the condition of the remaining captives, noting that even the 11 released victims are still hospitalised, traumatised and mentally unstable.
Addressing journalists in Kaduna, the chairman of the families of the victims, Dr Abdulfatai Jimoh, thanked the Federal Government and other stakeholders for the effort made in rescuing the 11 victims recently released.
Jimoh, whose wife was among the 11, added that some of the 50 remaining victims still in captivity are sick while others are mentally unstable.
He said, “Today being the 77th day after the abduction of our loved ones in the AK-9 Abuja-Kaduna train, we are here to express our appreciation to God Almighty and thank Mr President, the Service Chiefs, and other Nigerians for the efforts at ensuring the release of eleven victims of our loved ones.
“We are also saying that we still have 50 of our loved ones in captivity and we are praying that very soon, they will also be released and reunited with us.
“Those that were released are still receiving treatment in the hospital; they have gone through a lot of mental and psychological trauma and mental torture trauma for 77 days. They are mentally unstable. So, they are still recuperating. We hope very soon, they will come back to their normal selves.
“Some of those still in captivity are sick according to information available to us. So, we are appealing to the Federal Government to ensure they are rescued as soon as possible.”
Rakiya Othman, whose sister was among those released, said her brother is among the 50 still in the terrorists’ den; adding that “my sister wept uncontrollably when she was asked by the terrorists to go, knowing that she was leaving her brother behind in the forest.”
