Headline

Families of abducted passengers on Abuja-Kaduna Train Vow To Truncate Resumption Of Services

Published

3 years ago

May 9, 2022

Victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack, especially family members of those who were abducted have resolved to truncate the resumption of the train services, following repair works which were completed recently.

Recall that the Nigerian Railways Corporation ( NRC ) had informed Nigerians that it has effected repairs on the train route and was making preparations to resume train operations on the same route.

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi had in a statement confirmed that the train services will resume on the route on July 29.

The aggrieved family members resolved to take the action on Monday in Abuja at a press conference.

They criticised the Federal Government for paying lip service to their plight.

Mrs. Zara Aliyu who spoke on behalf of the families said they would not allow the train service to resume operation on the route until their family members who are being held hostage are released.

She also called on the government to put adequate security measures in place to guarantee the safety of the prospective passengers.

The group also accused the Minister of being insensitive for running around at a stadium in Port Harcourt recently where he declared his intention to run for the office of the President instead of working toward rescuing the victims.

According to Zara,” We are the families of abducted passengers of NRC AK9 Abuja- Kaduna bound Train attacked on March 2022.

“Today marks the 42nd day our loved ones have been held, hostage. It has been 42 long days of living in fear, virtually no sleep, no bath, wearing the same clothes under the scorching sun and rain and being exposed to extreme environmental hazards.

” The emotional psychology, mental and physical torture arising from these conditions are only imaginable.

” We read in the news that one of the two pregnant women in captivity delivered her baby in the forest.

” Giving birth is supposed to be a moment of joy, how would it have been if this woman delivered her baby in the comfort of a maternity ward? ”

She said they were disappointed in the nonchalant attitude of the Minister toward the plight of the victims.

She noted that the NRC did not contact them one week after the Presidential directive was issued that the management of Nigerian Railways Corporation should establish a Situation Room to give updates on the rescue effort of the relatives.

They also called for the intervention of the National Assembly to prevail on the relevant security agencies to ensure the safety and rescue of the victims.

” Just a few days after March 28th Mr. Amaechi was seen running around the stadium in Porth Harcourt where he declared his intention to become the next President of Nigeria. We had expected Mr. Amaechi to be running around as to how to get his abducted passengers rescued and this is highly disappointing “

Headline

Sweden To Charge 18-year-old Over IS Terror Plot

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

The Swedish Prosecution Authority said Tuesday it intended to charge an 18-year-old man for planning a terrorist act in Stockholm on behalf of the Islamic State group.

According to prosecutors, the planning took place between August 2024 and February 2025.

“We believe the purpose of the preparations was to induce serious fear in the population, in the name of the Islamic State. The criminal act could have seriously harmed Sweden,” Deputy Chief Prosecutor Henrik Olin said in a statement.

Prosecutors did not provide details of the plan but said the man was also suspected of “preparation for serious crimes under the act on flammable and explosive goods and training for terrorism”.

Prosecutors said they planned to file the charges on Thursday and that a press conference would be held the same day.

The young man will also be charged alongside a 17-year-old boy with attempted murder in Germany in August 2024.

Both of them are also suspected of “participation in a terrorist organisation,” according to the statement.

The man was arrested in Stockholm on February 11 and has been in custody since then.

AFP

Headline

US Shutdown Hits 35 Days, Tying Longest In History

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

The US government shutdown entered its 35th day on Tuesday, matching a record set during President Donald Trump’s first term, as lawmakers voiced hope over progress behind the scenes to end the dispute.

The federal closure appears almost certain to become the longest in history, with no breakthroughs expected before it goes into its sixth week at midnight — although there were fragile signs in Congress that an off-ramp is closer than ever.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune set the buoyant mood music on Monday when he told reporters he felt “optimistic” that newly energised talks between warring Republicans and Democrats could end in a deal before next week.

The government has been grinding to a halt since Congress failed to pass a bill to keep federal departments and agencies funded past the end of the last financial year on September 30.

“I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think any of us expected that it would drag on this long. We didn’t believe, we couldn’t have imagined,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told a news conference arranged to mark the six-week milestone.

“It’s now tied for the longest shutdown in US history. And we didn’t think we’d have to come in here every single day — day after day after day — and repeat the obvious facts to the American people and to put on display every day what is happening here.”

Some 1.4 million federal workers — from air traffic controllers to park wardens — have been placed on enforced leave without pay or made to work for nothing, while vital welfare programs and even paychecks for active-duty troops are under threat.

Both sides remain dug in over the main sticking point — health care spending.

Democrats say they will only provide votes to end the funding lapse after a deal has been struck to extend expiring insurance subsidies that make health care affordable for millions of Americans.

But Republicans insist they will only address health care once Democrats have voted to switch the lights back on in Washington.

While both sides’ leadership have shown little appetite for compromise, there have been signs of life on the back benches, with a handful of moderate Democrats working to find an escape hatch.

A separate bipartisan group of four centrist House members unveiled a compromise framework Monday for lowering health insurance costs.

Democrats believe that millions of Americans seeing skyrocketing premiums as they enroll onto health insurance programs for next year will pressure Republicans into seeking compromise.

But Trump has held firm on refusing to negotiate, telling CBS News in an interview broadcast Sunday that he would “not be extorted.”

The president has sought to apply his own pressure to force Democrats to cave, by threatening mass layoffs of federal workers and using the shutdown to target progressive priorities.

Last week his administration threatened to cut off a vital aid programme that helps 42 million Americans pay for groceries for the first time in its more than 60-year history, before the move was blocked in court.

And the president has returned to a familiar playbook of demanding the elimination of the Senate filibuster — the 60-vote threshold for passing most legislation — so Republicans can pass government funding themselves.

“Terminate the filibuster now, end the ridiculous shutdown immediately, and then, most importantly, pass every wonderful Republican policy that we have dreamt of for years, but never gotten,” Trump fulminated in an all-caps social media post.

Preserving the filibuster — which senators say protects the voice of the minority — is one of the few issues on which Republicans are willing to defy Trump and radical reform seems highly unlikely.

“The votes aren’t there,” Thune told reporters on Monday.

AFP

Headline

China Backs Nigeria, Warns Against Foreign Interference

Published

17 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

China has urged the international community to respect Nigeria’s sovereignty following a US threat of military action.

The Chinese government reiterated its support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration, commending the government for guiding the country along a development path tailored to its national conditions.

According to a report sourced from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China’s website, the Spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, stated this at a press briefing on Tuesday in Beijing.

She said, “As Nigeria’s strategic partner, China opposes any attempt by foreign powers to use religion or human rights as a pretext to meddle in another country’s internal affairs or impose sanctions and military threats.”

Recently, the US threatened Nigeria with possible military action due to the alleged persecution of Christians in the country.

The United States President, Donald Trump, had threatened to deploy military forces in Nigeria if the alleged genocide against Christians is not stopped in the country.