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

Welcome Home, Israel Confirms Return Of 20 Hostages From Gaza

Published

1 day ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Israel said that the last 20 living hostages released by Hamas on Monday had arrived in the country.

“Welcome home,” the foreign ministry wrote in a series of posts on X, hailing the return of Matan Angrest, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.

AFP

Headline

20 Members Of Gang Blacklisted By US Escape Guatemala Prison

Published

1 day ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Twenty members of a gang designated a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States have escaped from detention in Guatemala, a prison chief said Sunday.

The members of the Barrio 18 gang “evaded security controls” at the Fraijanes II facility, prison director Ludin Godinez said at a news conference.

He received “an intelligence report” on Friday warning about the “possible escape” from the prison, which is southeast of the capital, Guatemala City.

Godinez said they were investigating possible acts of corruption.

Washington last month blacklisted Barrio 18, an El Salvador-based gang which has a reputation for violence and extortion, as part of its crackdown on drug trafficking.

The US embassy in Guatemala condemned the prison escape as “utterly unacceptable.”

“The United States designated members of this heinous group as the terrorists they are and will hold accountable anyone who has provided, provides, or decides to provide material support to these fugitives or other gang members,” the embassy said on X.

It called on the Guatemalan government to “act immediately and vigorously to recapture these terrorists.”

According to Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez, there are about 12,000 gang members and collaborators in Guatemala, while another 3,000 are in prison.

The country’s homicide rate has increased from 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024 to 17.65 this year, more than double the world average, according to the Centre for National Economic Research.

According to the Salvadoran government, the gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, are responsible for the deaths of about 200,000 people over three decades.

The two gangs once controlled an estimated 80 percent of El Salvador, which had one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

Headline

South Africa Bus Crash Kills 40 Including Malawi, Zimbabwe Nationals

Published

1 day ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

At least 40 people, including nationals of Malawi and Zimbabwe, were killed when a passenger bus rolled down an embankment in South Africa, a provincial transport minister said Monday.

The bus travelling to Zimbabwe crashed around 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the border on Sunday after the driver apparently lost control, Limpopo province transport minister Violet Mathye said.

“They are still working on the scene, but 40 bodies have already been confirmed to date,” Mathye told the Newzroom Afrika channel. The dead included a 10-month-old girl, she said.

Thirty-eight people were in hospital and rescuers were searching for other victims, she told eNCA media.

The bus was travelling from the southern city of Gqeberha, around 1,500 kilometres away, and its passengers included Malawians and Zimbabweans who were working in South Africa. The crash may have been caused by driver fatigue or a mechanical fault, the minister said.

South Africa has a sophisticated and busy road network with a high rate of road deaths, blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving and unroadworthy vehicles.

AFP