Following the attack on the Kaduna-Abuja rail track on Monday, by terrorists the victims, described as small boys between 18 and 20 years, and did not look like Nigerians;
Some of the victims of the attack narrated their experiences to The PUNCH on Tuesday from their hospital beds at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital and St Gerard Catholic Hospital, Kaduna.
One of the victims, Fatima Shuaibu, a student of the College of Education, Gidan Waya, Kaduna State, on board the train, confirmed to The PUNCH that her sister, Zainab, was shot in the stomach and died.
Fatima, while fighting back tears, narrated how her sister was shot in the stomach by the terrorists and died instantly.
She said that, as the train was approaching Kaduna, they suddenly heard a loud explosion, which forced the train to derail.
According to her, the security personnel onboard the train ordered everybody to lie face down.
She added that before they could lie down, her sister, Zainab Awal, was shot in the stomach and she died on the spot, adding that the terrorists operated for two hours unhindered before the arrival of troops.
Fatima also disclosed that the terrorists came in buses and motorcycles, adding that those who were abducted were taken away in the buses.
She stated, “I was seated by the window on the train. Suddenly I started seeing light. It was around 8pm. Then there was a loud bang as if something exploded. Suddenly the train derailed. As soon as the train stopped, we started hearing gunshots.
The security personnel on the train announced that everybody should lie down on the floor of the train. My sister, Zainab Awal, was shot in the stomach and she died. They attacked the VIP coach, they abducted some people and took them to the bush; they shot other people. They operated for about two hours before soldiers and Air Force men arrived and they exchanged gunshots.”
She added that, “The terrorists were small boys of between 18 and 20 years. I saw them; they don’t look like Nigerians.
The soldiers rescued us on the train. They evacuated us. Those of us, who were injured, were evacuated from the train. They climbed the cliff with us and took us to the expressway, where vehicles were brought to convey us. From there, they brought us to the hospital. The incident happened around 7.50pm.”
Another passenger, Maimuna Ibrahim, in giving her account of the attack, said the attackers were chanting, ‘Allah Akbar’ (Allah is the greatest).
Maimuna told The PUNCH from her hospital bed that the attackers, who mostly communicated in Fulfulde, were between 18 and 20 years old and wielded heavy guns.
Maimuna, who said she was returning from Abuja, where she had gone to for a workshop, noted that the passengers “saw hell” but remained grateful to God that she was among those rescued by the troops.
The victim said the terrorists forced their way into the coach Sp17, where she was, and shot indiscriminately and were shouting ‘Allah Akbar’.
She also added that the terrorists abducted many of the passengers, whom they forced down the train, beating and kicking them.
Ibrahim, however, sustained a gunshot wound on her thigh, but luckily the bullet did not penetrate her bone.
She said, “I went for a workshop in Abuja in the morning. I was on my way back when the attack took place. I was shot in the leg but the bullet did not penetrate my bone. Honestly we suffered seriously, but thank God that soldiers came and they really helped us.
“I was unable to walk; it was one of the soldiers, who carried me on his back to the car that brought us to the hospital. They carried us and were able to pass over the cliff. Seriously, they tried because it was not easy climbing the cliff.
The terrorists came into the train but they did not come to the place I was seated. I was hit by a bullet. They entered SP17. As they were shooting, the police security on the train asked us to lie down on the floor of the train so that bullets would not hit us. Unfortunately, before I could get down, a bullet hit me.”
Another passenger, Mohammed Isa, who was shot in the right arm, said he endured the pain for over an hour until the soldiers came to their rescue.
At least eight out of the 398 passengers, who boarded the ill-fated Kaduna-bound train from Abuja around 6pm on Monday, have been confirmed dead by the federal and state governments, while 28 are currently hospitalised and several others still unaccounted for.