- Police Escorts took cover in toilets during attack – Survivor
BY SEGUN ADEBAYO – As information continue trickling in concerning Monday’s terrorists’ attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train, it has been confirmed that former Deputy Governor of Zamfara State, Ibrahim Wakkala, is among the many passengers that sustained gunshot injuries during the deadly incident.
This is even as a survivor of the attack lamented that the police escorts took cover in the toilets when terrorists struck and opened fire on the train leaving everyone to fend for themselves.
Confirming the report, an aide to Wakkala, who attended the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Convention in Abuja at the weekend, said his principal was shot during the gun duel between the terrorists and the military personnel.
According to Channels Television reports, the aide however said Wakkala has been moved to a military hospital in Kaduna for the treatment of his wounds.
Reacting to the development, Spokesperson of APC in Zamfara State, Yusuf Idris, disclosed that Wakkala was initially abducted by the terrorists during the attack but was successfully rescued by the combined personnel of Department of State Security (DSS) and the Nigerian Military.
Idris said; “He was initially abducted but was rescued by the DSS and military, it was during the process he sustain gunshot injury in the leg. He is very okay now, he is receiving treatment at the hospital in Kaduna state.”
Meanwhile, one survivor from the attack claimed that Police escorts in the train ran to the toilets in their bid to escape the hail of bullets from the diehard criminals.
Recounting the unforgettable nerve-wrecking experience to SaharaReporters on condition of anonymity via phone call on Tuesday, the survivor narrated how the escorts took refuge in the toilets immediately the attackers began emptying their bullets on the train.
She said the pandemonium during the tragic incident forced people to scamper for safety anywhere available, adding that the weapons used by the terrorists were more sophisticated than the ones with the policemen on board.
“The police escorts on the train ran into the toilets and many passengers joined them. Clearly, the terrorists came with sophisticated weapons which scared the police,” she said.
Describing her escape as an act of God, the woman said she hid under the seats as the bullets were flying over her head.
Aside some passengers reportedly gunned down by the bandits, two cleaners working on the attacked Abuja-Kaduna train and identified as Loretta and Abdul, reportedly lost their lives in the deadly incident and their corpses were removed to St. Gerald’s Catholic Hospital in Kaduna.
In another development, the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (KASEMA) has requested family members “to contact the number 09088923398 for inquiries or to provide information on passengers that travelled on the Abuja to Kaduna train on 28th March 2022.”
The request is contained in a release personally signed by the Executive Secretary of the Agency, Muhammed Mu’azu Mukaddis.
In hatching their deadly plans, the suspected terrorists successfully detonated a bomb on the rail track of the Abuja-Kaduna bound train on Monday evening.
