Abuja-Kaduna bombed Train: 21 Passengers Missing – NRC Presents Questionable Record As Nigerians Await Terrorists For Actual Figure

It is sad since Monday night Abuja-Kaduna bound train was bombed by terrorists suspected to be bandits, Nigeria Government has not been able to give account of the accurate number of persons missing or Kidnapped by the terrorists.

Nigeria media had estimated the total number of persons inside the bombed train to be 970. But the Nigerian Railway Corporation said 362 persons aboard the train according to the passengers’ manifest.

Contradictory, Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, Managing Director, Engineer Fidet Okhiria said on Saturday that 170 persons have returned home safely. Adding, 21 passengers are missing.

Okhiria said 362 persons were on the train passengers manifest but the train have carrier capacity of 840 persons.

Seven persons had earlier been reported killed and confirmed dead.

The NRC Managing Director did not state the number of persons in the hospital which the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor said to be 29 injured.

Questionable as the NRC figures may be, 170 returned passengers, seven death and 29 hospitalized, alleged 21 missing will give a total of 227 persons accounted for.

NRC agreed 362 persons boarded the train but could not give account of 133 persons.

It was gathered that the terrorists have allowed the Kidnapped victims to make contact with their families with a statement that they should get prepared to pay ransom which would be communicated to them on a later date.

Over 80 of the affected families have reportedly spoken confidentially with the media.

Vanguard Newspaper news feature on Saturday reported various interviews the media had with some survivors of the bombed train.

The survivors narrated how they were lucky to be freed by the terrorists and how the bandits moved several persons out of the different coaches of the train into long buses.

NRC Managing Director, Okhiria said the train that was attacked had eleven (11) coaches worked by Loco 2502, which is made up of four (4) SPA Coaches with 56 sitting capacity per coach and 7 SP Coaches with 88 sitting capacity per coach, and that the total seat capacity of the train is 840 seats.

The Managing Director of the Corporation, Engineer Fidet Okhiria, disclosed this in a Press Statement he personally signed.

Mr. Okhiria said the initial suspension of train service was because of the level of damage on the track and in honour of those that lost their lives.

He added that While in this mournful mood, it is also important to inform members of the public and the press about the latest development and what the corporation is doing to restore train services.

The update according to him became necessary so as to prevent the circulation of falsehood or misleading information to the general public.