Relatives and friends of the abducted passengers of the ill-fated Abuja-Kaduna AK-9 train, on Thursday, vowed to take over the streets and occupy key government facilities in Abuja and Kaduna in protest to demand the release of their loved ones in kidnappers’ den for more than 94 days.
They said the protest would start on Tuesday to coincide with the 100 days remembrance when bandits attacked and the subsequent took away 63 of their loved ones.
While addressing journalists in Kaduna on Thursday, the families said they were worried that their loved ones are still languishing in the forest, considering reports of snake bites and the gunshot injury the captive had suffered.
Speaking on behalf of the families, Dr. Abdulaziz Atta, whose 85-year-old mother and elder sister were among the victims, said members of victims’ families would be staging a sit-down and occupy protest at public facilities until their loved ones are rescued.
Atta said, “We read from the media report that one of our loved ones, Al-Amin, was shot and that it was an accidental discharge by one of the non-state actors guarding our loved ones. But the key question now is this; what is the state of health of the person that sustained gunshot wounds?
There are no antibiotics and nobody to remove the bullets from his body. Just imagine the current situation that he will be in the bush. He needs urgent support. If he is not brought out of the bush, we may lose him.
“To be fair, we are seeing some of the outcomes of the government’s efforts. We have seen 11 of our loved ones that have been released.”
The bandits had penultimate Saturday, released 11 out of the 61 victims of the abducted train passengers, after spending almost three months in their custody, while 50 hostages are remaining.
Of the 50 remaining hostages, one of the victims, Mohammed Al’Amin, was shot on Monday by the bandits, eliciting public outcry that the Federal Government should hasten up negotiation for the release of hostages.