Families and relatives of the kidnapped victims of the Kaduna-bound train attack have issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the federal government to ensure the release of their loved ones still in captivity.
They issued the ultimatum on Monday night after observing what they described as the government’s nonchalant attitude.
They added that if nothing was done they would be forced to take a decision on their own.
They also said that since the incident, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) is yet to reach out to them.
Dr Abdulfatai Jimoh, who spoke on behalf of the kidnapped families said: “Two weeks after the abduction of the passengers, they are yet to be contacted by the terrorists for negotiation. We are yet to establish contact with our beloved ones since 28th March 2022.
“It is better that the government goes into negotiation with the terrorists as they have demanded in a recent viral video, so as to secure the release of our loved ones alive.”
He said the federal government seemed incapacitated to protect the lives and property of the citizens.
“This incident happened on the 28 of March. A day or two after, most of us had communication with our relatives. The kidnappers said that we should be ready that they are going to contact us.
“But we have not heard any communication from them since then. Since this incident happened, we expected that by now, the government, the Nigerian Railway Corporation and the Federal Ministry of Transportation are supposed to have identified relatives of the victims to tell us what effort they are making or not to rescue our loved ones unhurt.
“In fact, the primary duty of any government is to protect the lives and property of citizens,” he added.
He also stated they had trusted the government to ensure the release of the hostages until they saw a video in which the terrorists said they (terrorists) had something with the government.
“We believe our government can do it and it’s capable of doing it. Until a few days ago we had been expecting telephone calls from the abductors because that’s what they promised us. But when we saw the video, they made it very clear that they want to discuss with the government; that they have something with the government.
“We don’t know what they want from the government. But it’s now an opportunity and a window for the government to rescue our loved ones by opening a channel of communication with them (terrorists). This is not out of place. It is done anywhere in the world.
“Even the US, Israel and the most powerful nations of the world, they do negotiate when they have issues like this to preserve the lives of their citizens. This, we know our government can do and we are appealing to them to do it. We don’t know what is between them but it is something that can be resolved in the interest of the lives of Nigerian citizens. Life is very sacred even if it is one life that’s involved.
“We are appealing to Nigeria government to do everything within its powers and it is something that’s not beyond the government to do. We are appealing to them to come out to open a channel of discussion with the bandits and get our loved ones out as quickly as possible.
“We have been in serious anguish in the past 15 days. Many of us have not been sleeping, we have not been sleeping. We are like living corpses. We have decided collectively that we are giving the government 72-hours to do everything that’s necessary to rescue our loved ones,” he said.
