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Abuja-Kaduna Train Attack: We’re Feeling Suicidal, Says Man Whose Mum, 85, Sister Remain Captive

Although eleven of the 62 abducted passengers in the Abuja-Kaduna train bombing were released last week, families of those still in captivity have been appealing for mercy on behalf of their loved ones. One of them is Dr Abdulaziz Atta, a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He spoke with Gboyega Alaka days before the release of the eleven.

Can you please send me your picture so I can use it with this interview?

If I send you my photo, I look terrible.

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Okay, send me your regular picture.

If I send you my regular picture, people are likely to ask that ‘this man, are you sure it’s you mother and sister that were kidnapped?’

The above is a transcription of the concluding part of an interview with Dr. Abdulaziz Atta, a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, whose 85-year-old mother, Hajia Halima Atta and sister, Adama Lawal Aliyu, are among the 50 abductees still in the camp of terrorists, following the bombing of the Abuja-Kaduna train and subsequent kidnap of 63 passengers on March 28, 2022.

Indeed, it is also a reflection of the kind of dilemma he, his family and extended family and as well as all other families and friends of those still in the kidnappers den have found themselves.

According to him, the effect of the 83 days (today) trauma is so debilitating, so disrupting of their lives, yet they have to stay strong and show a strong face for the younger ones in the family.

“My sister has children who have been asking, when is mum coming back? So we have been saddled with the responsibility of giving them hope, despite our own internal trauma. We are struggling to manage them because we have to be strong for them. Whenever we are moved to tears, we lock ourselves in the room and cry. Sometimes, we lock ourselves in the bathroom and cry.”

Recounting how he has coped with having an ageing mother and sister in the terrorists den for a whole of ten weeks and counting, Atta, who described himself as a poor university teacher, said, “It has been extremely, extremely difficult. What I tell people is that if you have somebody that died, you will mourn and there will be closure. But in this scenario, it is different. You don’t know the situation they are in. You don’t know exactly where they are, their conditions; you only know that they are in the bush. They are condemned to eating whatever is provided for them, which of course can never be okay. It is raining heavily as we speak; imagine the condition they would find themselves in the bush. My mum for instance, even to perform ablution for the Muslim prayer, she has had to use warm water for as long as I can remember. I’m not even talking about bathing now. So imagine how she is coping with the harsh condition of living in the bush for so long, having to bath and perform ablution with cold water. My only joy is that before she was taken into captivity, she was relatively strong for her age. But despite that, an 85-year-old person needs her medication, which are not there with her. I remember her complaining of pain in her legs before she boarded the train. Her situation becomes more critical when I remember that she only lost her son, my younger brother, in October last year. So all we have been doing since then was to calm her and make her get over it. So this may have compounded her situation.”

Trains as last hope

“It is 73 days today (penultimate Thursday) since they have been abducted. To think that we actually took the option of the train because of the insecurity on the Kaduna-Abuja road. In fact, I decided long ago that if it’s not by train, I’m not travelling to Abuja. Despite the fact that I have to come to Zaria and then to Kaduna, I still prefer the train. It’s the number one option for most of us that live in Kaduna because of the insecurity. So, as a Muslims, we have accepted it as an act of destiny.”

Asked if he envisaged any such thing happening, Atta said, “Definitely. If you follow the train and you see the thick forest that it runs through, and you know that these people have set up camps in the forest, then you can’t but envisage it. Even the experts that I have been interacting with envisaged it. The question is, why were appropriate measures not taken to forestall it?”

When reminded that the bomb attack could hardly have been forestalled, since it was nearly impossible to keep watch on the nearly 200kilometre rail line, Attah said, “The fact still remains that the location of these bandits is known to them, why don’t you take on those camps. Our security men needed to be ahead of these bandits. These forests are parts of Nigerian territories; why then should they live them ungoverned? They are supposed to continually identify those camps and clear them out. It’s not even the issue of guarding the tracks, because as you rightly said, it is practically impossible to achieve that. Honestly, in these past ten weeks and my interactions with security operatives, I have come to the conclusion that we have some of the best brains. They would tell you the problems, what could be done and so on and so forth. But the bottom-line is that somebody has failed in his responsibility/work at certain point. If you have a system where you don’t punish wrongdoing or reward people for doing things right. It is the consequence of that inaction that we are witnessing now. And that is why we have issues in our national life.”

When reminded that the security operatives have also been giving excuses of the danger in attacking the bandits’ camps, going by the fact that there are always captives amongst them, Atta’s reply was a reflective one:

“I agree with you. If you ask me now that I have two of my family members with them that should you go and bomb them? I would naturally tell you no; because I’m directly affected. But like I said, I have learnt a lot from these same security officers, and you would be amazed at the kind of solutions they have. The question is, why have they not been able to implement them?”

Grateful ASUU is on strike

Atta also revealed that they have only been able to speak with their loved ones once; the first week they were abducted.

‘They called us that first week of the abduction and spoke to my immediate elder brother; I think that call was more of prove that they were alive. They actually spoke to relatives of all the abductees. But after that, virtually none of us has had direct contact with our loved ones. What we’ve had are pictures and videos online and in newspapers.

“And so, it has been extremely difficult. I have had to relocate from Zaria where my immediate family is, to Kaduna where my extended family house is. So I have left my wife and children in Zaria. The hard truth is that my wife and my children are not priority at the moment. It’s a sad thing to say but it’s the reality. My kids would call and ask me, ‘daddy when are you coming back to Zaria?’ and I’d tell them, ‘when your grandmother comes back, so pray for their safe return’. That’s the kind of situation we’ve found ourselves. Sometimes, I even tell people that I am fortunate that ASUU is on strike. Otherwise how would I have coped with lecturing? The strike gives me the space to be out of work. How would I have gone to class to teach? It would have been impossible and I would have simply asked for leave. And if the management refuses, I probably would just have left the job. It’s not as if I craved the ASUU strike, but for this moment and my trouble, I think it worketh well for me.”

As a researcher who has post graduate students to attend to, Atta also said the situation has impeded him from interacting well with his post graduate students to move their work forward.

Have the terrorists asked for ransom money?

In the first week, when they called, they talked about money and that we should prepare… But that was all. Of course we all read in the newspaper when the MD of Bank of Agric paid huge amount of money to them. To the best of my knowledge, no other family has been made to pay any other money. I’m aware that the total number of  people abducted were 62, then they released the lady who was heavily pregnant. So that leaves them with 61 people.”

“If you follow the matter very closely, the terrorists made it clear what they are demanding. In the first video they released, they said money was not their interest, that the government knows what they want. But in the subsequent video, we clearly heard what they said, which is that they (the government) had their children kept somewhere. They claimed that the  government had taken some of their children into some orphanage during one of their raids on their hideouts. So, basically, they want their children back.”

On government’s role so far…

“Honestly speaking, recently, I would say the government has upped their game. I’m aware government is doing a lot now. So for us, we are hopeful that  we are coming to the end of this ordeal. However, I really can’t say more than that; because I’m aware that these guys speak good English. If you’ve watched their videos, you would understand what I mean. So I won’t be surprised if they read this interview.

My appeal

“I am appealing to them, not just on behalf of my mother and sister, but  on behalf of all other abductees. Don’t forget that we also have kids with them. We have a husband, wife and four kids in that camp. So I’m appealing that they should, because of God, talk to government, so that whatever their grievances are, they can be sorted. Clearly, they have said that money is not their interest; they should work with the government to resolve whatever their grievances are for the benefit of the country and for the sake of our loved ones. They’ve been there for over ten weeks. Imagine the women there that need sanitary pads. I have my mother there, wearing the same clothes, the same underwear for ten weeks. Some people even change underwear more than once in a day. I am appealing to them to because of the God we worship together, let them go. Their lives have been disrupted; same for us their loved ones. Some of us are feeling suicidal. We are only holding on because we don’t want to have emotional breakdown; and because we feel that what they are going through in the bush is worse than what we are going through. Source: Nation.

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