Many individuals, including one of the train drivers, food vendors, a young medical doctor identified as Chinelo, and cleaners were reportedly killed in the Abuja-Kaduna train attack by terrorists.
The terrorists had attacked the train which was on its way to Kaduna from Abuja on Monday night.
The gunmen were said to have blown up the rail track after which they launched an attack on the passengers.
Sources told TheCable that the gunmen went straight for the VIP coaches on getting into the train.
An unspecified number of passengers were said to have been injured during the attack while some others were reportedly abducted.
“The attackers went for the VIP coaches,” one of the sources told TheCable.
“Some persons were abducted and several others with injuries.”
Another source who spoke to the medium said, “Lots of railway staff are missing. Their bodies were not found among the dead and their whereabouts unknown.”
Kaduna govt confirms deaths
In the meantime, the government of Kaduna State has confirmed that fatalities were recorded during the attack.
Samuel Aruwan, the state commissioner for internal security disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
Aruwan did not, however, state the number of death recorded but said dead victims and those injured had been taken to hospitals.
The names of the hospitals were not mentioned either.
“Evacuation of passengers on the trapped Kaduna-bound train from Abuja has been concluded this morning by security forces, officials of Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and Nigerian Red Cross,” he said.
“Passengers who sustained injuries, and other fatalities, have been moved to hospitals. The passengers were evacuated from different hard-to-reach areas in forests and rocky locations in Audujongom, off the Kaduna-Abuja Road.
“As stated yesterday, the Kaduna State Government is still liaising with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to ascertain the list from the passengers manifest for efficient tracking.”
Aruwan said Governor Nasir El-Rufai commended those who participated in the evacuation and appealed to the hospitals to attend to the victims diligently.
He said the governor also directed the Ministry of Health to be in contact with the hospitals, noting that the government would bear the cost of treatment.
“As of the time of this update, search-and-rescue operations are in progress,” he added.