Reactions Trails Report of Bandit Attack on Kaduna Bound Train

Nigerians are aggressively reacting to the recent report about an attack on a train bound for Kaduna which was allegedly attacked by bandits.

According to reports, the Kaduna-Abuja train was conveying hundreds of passengers to Kaduna on Monday, 28th March, when it was attacked by bandits. Investors King gathered that the train left Abuja for Kaduna at about 6 p.m. and was attacked between Katari and Rijana. The Kaduna State Government went ahead to confirm the attack while also revealing that attempts to repel the attack were carried out successfully.

Investors King also gathered that while the attack was ongoing, many passengers on board took to various social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to report the attack while also soliciting support in form of prayers.

Capturing one passenger – Anas Iro-Danmusa’s – Facebook post, the passenger asked his Facebook friends to pray for passengers on board. Anas had stated that the bandits had planted explosives on the rail tracks which damaged the train and brought it to halt.

He went further to disclose that the bandits who have been branded as ‘Unknown Gunmen’ in the past, proceeded to fire shots randomly after trying and failing to make their way inside the train.

Another passenger, identified on Twitter as Dr. Chinelo, tweeted that she had just been shot while also asking for Nigerians on her Twitter to pray for her – various reports also indicated that the Twitter user letter lost her life after the sad tweet.

Although there is no official number of casualties from this attack, a number of sources have declared varying numbers of casualties and kidnapping by the bandits.

However, this is not the first time bandits will be attacking passengers via the Kaduna-Abuja train. In October 2020,  bandits carried out a similar attack where explosives were plated on the train rails which led to a number of complications for passengers.

Kaduna is one of the states most affected by banditry in North-west Nigeria. However, the state government released a statement confirming Monday’s attack while disclosing that the military has secured the Kaduna-bound train from Abuja trapped by terrorists.

Nigerians React

The aftermath of this report has opened a number of conversations on social media – with conversations bordering around insecurity, bad governance, tribal differences and a host of other hot topics in the country. Nigerians have taken to Twitter to share their opinions.

Here are a few

Following the attack, the rescued passengers were taken to 44 Military Hospital in Kaduna where they are receiving care. A number of Nigerians have also revealed that efforts have been made in blood donation for the victims.

Investors King also gathered that Vice President Osibajo arrived at the 44 Military Hospital to see some of the injured passengers. The VP was received by Kaduna Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.

Senate Reacts

Reacting to the unfortunate incident, The National Assembly has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to Launch a full-on war on bandits terrorising communities across the country. This request is notably coming after Senator Uba Sani – representing Kaduna central, drew the attention of the senate to the attack on the Kaduna-bound trian.