Families of passengers kidnapped from the bombed Abuja-Kaduna train on Wednesday protested in the Federal Capital Territory to demand the safe return of their loved ones.
The protest was the first in Abuja since the unfortunate incident on March 28.
The families said the protest was a result of the threat by the terrorists to start killing those in captivity if the government did not meet their demands.
Speaking to journalists during the protest, Matilda Mohammed, whose husband was abducted, said she was in a fix on what to expect after the expiration of the ultimatum given by the terrorists.
She appealed to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to meet the demand of the terrorists to save their loved ones from being killed.
Mohammed said, “After seven days, should we expect a funeral or liberation? We call on the President, the service chiefs, the head of security agencies, and national and international human rights organisations to rescue our families.
“They are your family too. There can be no negotiation without dialogue. Please do not close the chapter on our story. It will forever change the course of history. Release their children. Let us have our family and your family back. Please, do not turn blind eye to our plight.
“We are once again appealing to our dear President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to kindly consider and accede to the demand of the abductors of our family members and save innocent Nigerians and your citizens.”
She also called on all the presidential aspirants to wade into the matter.
Also, Suliamon Usman, whose father is among the abductees, called on the President to ensure their relatives are released before the ultimatum elapsed.
He said, “The President should do something before the end of the seven days ultimatum. We don’t want anything to happen to our loved ones. There’s nobody in our shoes who will fold his arms after the ultimatum given by the terrorists.
“Yesterday (Tuesday), we were at the National Security Adviser’s office to see if we could see him listen to our plights, but he did not attend to us. Some of us have been hospitalised because of this incident. We don’t want to lose our loved ones.”
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