A Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) staff aboard the Kaduna-bound train attacked Monday night says the corporation has yet to ascertain whether bandits kidnapped passengers as many fled into a bush.
The official said the passengers fled into the bush for safety when the incident occurred.
“Nobody can ascertain whether passengers were kidnapped or not,” he said. “But the pandemonium must have caused a lot of people to run into the bush to safeguard their lives.”
This is as some family members of passengers aboard the train worry about their fate.
Speaking at the Rigasa railway station in Kaduna on Tuesday, they said they had yet to establish contact 14 hours after the attack.
Mohammed Barau, a resident of the Ungwan Rimi area of Kaduna whose younger brother was among the passengers, said he was at the train station to have an update regarding the incident.
“We called his line several times without response until later his friend seated with him on the train picked and told us that my brother left his phone on the seat and that he did not know his whereabouts,” he said.
Also, Lami Gombo, a resident of Kudenden in Kaduna, said she had yet to hear from her brother, who was aboard the train.
“His telephone lines are switched off; we have been to the Nigerian Army Reference Hospital but did not see him there,” she said.
Other family members expressed the same feeling, adding that their minds were not at rest.
On Monday, the Kaduna-bound train, which left Abuja at 6:00 p.m., was attacked by bandits around 7:45 p.m., with just 15 minutes drive to arrive in Kaduna.
When contacted for details about casualty figures, a KADSEMA official who did not want his name mentioned said they were still working on the details.
