Four more victims of the AK-9 Abuja-Kaduna train attack have been released by the terrorists.
It is the sixth batch of the freedom by the hostages, which now makes the No 23.
The latest victims that regained their freedom on Friday are a 85-year-old woman, Hajiya Halimatu Atta; her daughter, Adams Aliyu, and two others.
Publisher of the Kaduna-based Desert Herald, Tukur Mamu confirmed the development to journalists in Kaduna.
Mamu, who is also the Media Consultant to controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, also disclosed that credible information revealed that if urgent steps were not taken, 21-year-old Arzurfa John might be married off to one of the terrorists.
He noted that one of the commanders of the terrorists was in love with the young woman.
Mamu gave the identities of the two other victims as Mohammed Abdulmaji (who reportedly suggested Mamu’s name to the terrorists as a mediator) and a Sokoto indigene, Alhaji Modin Bodinga.
He said the Federal Government and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) should act urgently to secure the the woman’s freedom.
He urged CAN not to politicise the matter or treat the information with levity, adding that relevant authorities should engage the abductors on the woman’s case as soon as possible.
On the four hostages released: “They said they came collectively to thank me for the past efforts I made to mediate on their behalf and for convincing their abductors to drop the threats of executing them. They also pleaded with the stakeholders especially the Federal Government to intensify efforts as the condition of the remaining 23 victims they left at the forest was pathetic”.
On 28 March, terrorists planted explosives along the rail track and when the train approached the point, there was an explosion which caused the train to derail, leading to the death of eight passengers.
