Terrorists who attacked the 28 March Abuja-Kaduna bound train and abducted passengers on board have threatened to start killing the victims if their demands are not met within seven days.
Leaders of the group made the demands in a telephone conversation with Malam Tukur Mamu and Dan Iyan Fika, the spokesman of Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.
Abu Bara who spoke on behalf of the terrorists said, “The government suspended the resumption of the train service indefinitely because of our threats and we repeat if our conditions are not met, the resumption of the train service is to the detriment of the government and the passengers.
“We don’t need money. We have a good reason for doing what we did, until our demands are met none of the victims will come out alive even if it means we all die with them. They are well taken care of as you can see from the pictures we sent to you via WhatsApp but we assure you that this will not continue.
“We choose you (Tukur Mamu) to convey this important message to the government, the families of the victims, and Nigerians in general because we believe you won’t alter our message and we have seen you severally with Sheikh Gumi in the forest, therefore, we recognized the fearlessness in you”.
They explained that the passengers were abducted in retaliation for the arrest and detention of their children by the security agencies, who they said must be released unconditionally.
“Our children numbering about 8 between the ages of one to seven years are currently being held at an orphanage in Jimeta, Adamawa State under the supervision of the Nigerian Army.
“The names of our children are; Abdulrahman, Bilkisu, Usman, Ibrahim, and Juwairiyyah. They were forcefully taken from our wives in Nasarawa and taken to the orphanage in Yola.
“For any continued discussion on the release of these passengers and a safe resumption of the train service, our children must be released unconditionally. Only then we will release some of the abducted victims, especially the women while other passengers will be released on a prisoner exchange with some of our arrested comrades by the government.”
Continuing, the terrorist threatened, “If the government decided not to respond, so be it. We are warning Nigerians, especially those that are patronizing the train, that if this matter is not resolved peacefully, the day they decided to attack us or do anything funny, passengers or commuters should forget to use the train or follow the Abuja-Kaduna road because we will be consistent and they can’t stop us. We believe that you will deliver this message as it is,” he said.
Reacting, Mamu said he understood the plight of the Federal Government in resolving the issue, adding that “Time is not on our side, the government must understand that they are dealing with persons with a misguided ideology and tainted religious belief. These people are not scared of death, they seem to believe that they are martyrs when they die. It will be a serious mistake to take this threat lightly. I believe an opportunity has been created for us to explore to save the lives of those innocent victims.”
