Devastated families of the abducted victims of the ill-fated Abuja-bound train attack has confirmed the Seven days Ultimatum given by the terrorists who had held their loved ones in captivity for 59 days now, threatening to start killing them if the Federal government refused to heed to their demand.
The terrorists gave the ultimatum in a referenced audio available to the families demanding for the release of their children who are at the Yola Prison in Adamawa state.
Addressing a press conference today at the Daar communication building in Kaduna, the families therefore called on the Federal government to with a matter of urgent yield to their request and release their children so as to save the lives of their 62 loved ones still in the captive dens.
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Speaking on behalf of the Families and also the leader, Dr. Abdulfatai Jimoh said, life has not been the same with them since the referenced audio tape were some highly disturbing information was released.
According to him,” We, the families of AK9 Abuja Kaduna train abducted passengers woke up yesterday to the sad reality of a recorded audio tape from the abductors of our family members.
“It is exactly 58 days since our loved ones were captured and 23 days after Mr. President issued a directive to security agencies for their immediate and safe rescue, we are still anxiously waiting for a positive outcome of rescue efforts”, he said.
A relative of one of the abducted victims, Dr. Abdulazziz Atta who also confirmed the sad development of the threat by the terrorists noted that the seven-day ultimatum is real, and it starts since yesterday, saying that they have six more days to go.
He noted that the terrorists have made a clear demand, asking the FG to release their eight children in prison, while he appealed to the government to act fast, because the terrorists don’t make empty threats.
Dr. Atta faulted that there is absolutely no reason their children should not be released for the 62 abducted victims of the train.
He said, “We have all heard the audio from those that are holding our loved ones in captivity. They have a clear demand and we are actually taking the demand up. The Government is holding eight of their children”
“There is absolutely no reason those children should not be released for our 62 loved ones to be released. For us, it is no more 62 of our loved ones, it is now plus eight. So, we are no fighting for 70, because it cannot be justified why the government is holding eight children.
“Government should please release those eight Childers to those who abducted our loved ones. It appears the Government is absolutely not concerned in bringing our loved ones out. They are not concerned because they are busy with politics, they are busy fighting for positions, that is their interest now, they are not interested in several people being held in captivity”.
He however said the good news is that the terrorists in possession of their loved ones are now speaking with them directly, saying, “So, what you are hearing from us today is unadulterated. What you are hearing from us is directly from the abductors. We are going to release a video now to buttress our points”, he said.
“What they (abductors) are saying is that, they have eight children held by government and kept in Yola. They should be brought down to Kaduna and taken to the abductors. And if the government cannot take the children there, they should give us the responsibility, we will take the children to the forest, so that, we can get our loved ones out.
“For the past few days that we opened direct communication with the abductors of our loved ones, we had asked for proof of life and they sent a video to us.
“We also asked them for the names of their children in custody and they sent them to us. So, we can say we are building confidence between us and them. So, we don’t have any reason to doubt them, because we have 62 people there and we want them out”.
“The government should take their responsibility serious. For now, it appears like they don’t know what to do, or they have refused to do what they are expected to do.
“Our message is now directed to the President of our country. President Muhammadu Buhari should come to our aid. The President should handle this issue directly. This is eight weeks now and we have children and elderly people there in the forest. We have pregnant and injured people there”
“How can you sleep Mr President? How can you sleep? You can’t do this to us Mr President”, he said.
Another relative who expressed sadness while confirming the release of the audio tape said, they have been traumatized since the past 58 days, “we cannot concentrate on anything, we cannot work, because our loved ones are in dehumanized condition”.
He said that it is even better for them to go to the forest and they are also captured by the terrorists since the governmnet is not concerned about their plight. “We are in democracy for God sake. We voted for people to protect us, but what bothers them is how to re contest election and return to office.
“These people have stated their reason for abducting our innocent loved ones and they had stated what they want in return. And to us, it is not something that is too difficult to give. That, government is holding their children of one year, two years and seven years among others. What do children know about what is happening?
“So, why will the government not do the needful? So, we are telling government that, these people are talking to us directly and they are accusing government of cheating them, of deceiving them.
“The government should do the needful because these people have issued a seven-day ultimatum to start killing our people. They also made other threat on our loved ones. Government should meet the demand of the abductors as a matter of urgency”.
“We are begging the abductors to be compassionate and see our loved ones with them as their fellow Nigerians, who are just victims of circumstance. We believe they have the large heart to release our loved ones. They should please do so and not carry out their threats”.
Consequently, Dr. Fatima Ciroma, one of the relative said, “We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari, that we are law abiding citizens, so we don’t deserve this kind of treatment. We have been through 59 days of horror. We have had enough. Then, a video came yesterday from the abductors which broke almost all of us down.
“Mr President, if you don’t listen to us, your wife, as a mother knows our feelings right now.
“We are pleading with you, because this is not a joke. They said they going to slaughter our people after seven days, this type of thing has happened before, so there is no doubting the fact that they can carry out their threats.
“Please, please, we are begging you, release those small innocent children. I don’t even know why you arrested children. In a country where they know what they are doing, they don’t touch women and children but here we are in Nigeria, our people are inside the bush for 58 days”, she said.
