… In exchange for 100 passengers abducted from Kaduna train
Bandits have given condition under which they are willing to release the over 100 passengers abducted from the attacked Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28.
They specifically requested the Federal government to release their 16 top commanders and sponsors being detained after arrest.
Reports say the bandits carried out the violent attack on the train in order to abduct passengers as a bargaining chip for the release of their commanders and sponsors currently in government custody.
It was that gathered on Monday that the arrest of the suspects has had a telling effect on the murderous activities of the bandits, who are believed to be collaborating with the Boko Haram terrorist group to unleash attacks across the country.
The terrorists, on March 28 at Katari, Kaduna State, attacked the train, which was heading for Kaduna from Kaduna.
After the attack, security agencies reported that eight bodies were recovered from the attack scene while about 26 persons sustained injuries.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation said it was unable to establish contact with 163 passengers and seven crew members who boarded the train.
On Monday, sources explained that the bandits, in their ongoing negotiations with the Federal government, were demanding exchange of ‘prisoners’.
Last week, the gang released one of their hostages, the Managing Director, Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan, saying the gesture was due to his age.
In a video showing the victim in their midst, the gunmen said the government knows what they (terrorists) want, and threatened to kill the remaining hostages if their demands are not met.
On Sunday, the terrorists released another video where some of the captives were seen calling on the government to come to their rescue.
But a senior official said the terrorists were being hampered by the arrest of their top commanders, noting that their sources of funding had been greatly impacted by the arrest of their sponsors.
He stated: “The bandits have made contact (with the government) but the issue now involves the Interpol because they have international collaborators. Security operatives are working to identify their connection to Boko Haram.
“The bandits are after their people who are in custody. They are demanding the release of 16 sponsors and commanders in exchange for the abducted train passengers. That’s why they said in a video that the government knows what they want.
“We arrested some of their commanders and those sponsoring them in Dubai and Nigeria. We have about 16 commanders and sponsors in custody, so they are demanding their release because their sources of funding are declining. I hope the authorities would not release the commanders and sponsors to them because we are getting information on the bandits from the suspects,” the source noted.