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Survivors Of Kaduna Train Attack Narrate Ordeal, Say ‘We Saw Hell’

Published

4 years ago

March 30, 2022

…My Sister Was Shot In The Stomach And Died – Survivor

…Our Attackers Are Between 18 & 20 Years Of Age

Survivors of the Kaduna train attack have recounted their ordeal following the terrorist attack which reportedly claimed the lives of scores of persons on Monday night, with some of them saying, “We saw hell.”

Among those killed in the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna bound train was Dr. Chinelo Nwando Megafu, a dental surgeon.

Megafu, who had tweeted immediately after the accident soliciting prayers, was confirmed dead. Her remains had been deposited at the morgue of the St. Gerard Catholic Hospital, Kakuri, Kaduna, on Tuesday.

The terrorists had planted explosives devices along the rail track and when the Abuja-Kaduna bound train approached the point, the device exploded, causing the train to derail.

Megafu, a dental surgeon, had tweeted at exactly 9:43pm from her Twitter handle @nelo_x, that she was shot in the train, while calling for prayers from her followers. She had tweeted: “I’m in the train. I’ve been shot please pray for me.”

Some of the identities of those killed by the terrorists had yet to be made known, but one of the victims, Fatima Shuaibu, a student on board the train, confirmed to our correspondent that her sister, Zainab, was shot in the stomach and died, while another victim, Mohammed Isa, also in hospital, told The PUNCH, that he saw two dead bodies.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at the 44 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital located in the metropolis where victims who sustained critical injuries were taken to for urgent medical attention.

However, at the St. Gerard Catholic Hospital, our correspondent, who was at the hospital, was told that no fewer than 15 victims were brought to the hospital.

A source who craved anonymity said, “15 victims were brought here but some of them with serious gunshot wounds were referred to the 44 Army Reference Hospital where the bullets would be extracted from their bodies.”

Survivors of the attack

My sister was shot in the stomach and died – Fatima Shuaibu

Fatima Shuaibu, a student of the College of Education, Gidan Waya, Kaduna State, in sobs, narrated how her sister was shot in the stomach by the terrorists and died on the spot.

She explained that as the Abuja-Kaduna train was approaching Kaduna, they suddenly heard a loud explosion, forcing the train to go off the rail track, saying the security personnel attached to the train ordered “everybody should lie down on the floor.”

She added that before they could lie down, her sister, identified as Zainab Awal, was shot in the stomach and she died on the spot, adding that the terrorists operated for 2 hours unhindered before the arrival of the troops.

She disclosed that the terrorists came in Sharon vehicles (buses) and motorcycles, adding that those that were abducted were taken away in the Sharon buses.

“I was seated by the window in the train. Suddenly I started seeing touch light. It was around 8pm. Then there was a loud bang like as if something exploded. Suddenly the train went off track as if was falling down. As soon as the train stopped, we started hearing gunshots.

“The security personnel on the train announced that everybody should lie down on the floor of the train. My sister (Zainab Awal) was shot in the stomach and she died.

“They attacked the VIP coach. They abducted some people and took them to the bush, they shot other people.

“They operated for about 2 hours before soldiers and Air Force arrived and they exchanged gunshots.

“The terrorists came with Sharon buses and motorcycles. Those who were abducted were taken away in the Sharon buses.

“The terrorists were small boys of between 18 to 20 years. I saw them, they don’t look like Nigerians.

“The soldiers rescued us in the train. They evacuated us. Those of us who were injured were evacuated from the train. They climbed the cliff with us and took us to the expressway where vehicles were brought to carry people. From there they brought us to the hospital. The incident happened at about 7:50pm.

Our attackers are between 18 & 20 years of age

…terrorists were shouting Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar- Maimuna Ibrahim

Narrating her ordeal, Maimuna Ibrahim, who was also on board the attacked train, told our correspondent at the St. Gerard Catholic Hospital that the attackers, who mostly communicated in Fulani language, were between 18 and 20 years and wielding heavy guns.

Maimuna, who said she was returning from Abuja where she went for a workshop, noted that the passengers saw hell but remained grateful to God that she was among those rescued by troops mobilised to the scene of the attack.

She said the terrorists forced their way into the coach Sp17 where she was and shot indiscriminately and were shouting Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar, meaning in Arabic, Allah is great.

He added that the terrorists abducted many of the passengers whom they forced down the train, beating and kicking them.

She, however, sustained gunshot wound on her thigh but lucky enough that the bullets didn’t touch her bone.

According to her, she was unable to walk when she was shot by the bandits, adding that it was one of the soldiers that carried her on his back to the expressway before being taken to the hospital.

She said, “I went to a workshop in Abuja in the morning. I was on my way back when the attack took place.

“I was shot on the leg. But the bullet did not touch my bone. The bullet penetrated out of my leg. Honestly we suffered seriously, but thank God soldiers came and they really helped us.

“I was unable to walk, it was a soldier who carried me on the back to the car that brought us to the hospital. They carried us and were able to pass over the cliff. Seriously they tried because it was not easy climbing the cliff.

“The terrorists came into the train but they did not come to the place I was seated. I was hit by the bullet. They entered SP17.

“As they were shooting, the police security on the train asked us to lay down on the floor of the train so that the bullet would not get at us. Unfortunately before I could lay down the but hit me.”

They spoke Hausa language but were Fulani – Mohammed Isa

To Mohammed Isa, another male victim, shortly after the explosion, the terrorists started shooting from afar “as they approached.”

Isa, who claimed he was by the window side of the train, was shot on his right arm.

He said, “There was an explosion and the train lost control. They started shooting at the train from afar, then they started coming. When they got to the train attempted to open the door but they the had difficulties, so they shot at the door.

“They were speaking Hausa language but they were Fulanis. I was shot by the window. It took over one hour for soldiers to come.”

PUNCH.

Related Topics:Kaduna train attack Terrorists Attack

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South Korea, Japan Protest China, Russia Aircraft Incursions

Published

2 days ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

South Korea and Japan reacted furiously on Wednesday after Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted joint patrols around the two countries, with both Seoul and Tokyo scrambling jets.

South Korea said it had protested with representatives of China and Russia, while Japan said it had conveyed its “serious concerns” over national security.

According to Tokyo, two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers on Tuesday flew from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country.

The incident comes as Japan is locked in a dispute with China over comments Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made about Taiwan.

The bombers’ joint flights were “clearly intended as a show of force against our nation, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi wrote on X Wednesday.

Top government spokesman Minoru Kihara said that Tokyo had “conveyed to both China and Russia our serious concerns over our national security through diplomatic channels”.

Seoul said Tuesday the Russian and Chinese warplanes entered its air defence zone and that a complaint had been lodged with the defence attaches of both countries in the South Korean capital.

“Our military will continue to respond actively to the activities of neighbouring countries’ aircraft within the KADIZ in compliance with international law,” said Lee Kwang-suk, director general of the International Policy Bureau at Seoul’s defence ministry, referring to the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone.

South Korea also said it deployed “fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies” in response to the Chinese and Russian incursion into the KADIZ.

The planes were spotted before they entered the air defence identification zone, defined as a broader area in which countries police aircraft for security reasons but which does not constitute their airspace.

Japan’s defence ministry also scrambled fighter jets to intercept the warplanes.

Beijing later Tuesday confirmed it had organised drills with Russia’s military according to “annual cooperation plans”.

Moscow also described it as a routine exercise, saying it lasted eight hours and that some foreign fighter jets followed the Russian and Chinese aircraft.

Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defence zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises.

In November last year, Seoul scrambled jets as five Chinese and six Russian military planes flew through its air defence zone.

Similar incidents occurred in June and December 2023, and in May and November 2022.

Meanwhile, Tokyo said Monday it had scrambled jets in response to repeated takeoff and landing exercises involving fighter jets and military helicopters from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier as it cruised in international waters near Japan.

It also summoned Beijing’s ambassador after military aircraft from the Liaoning locked radar onto Japanese jets, the latest incident in the row ignited by Takaichi’s comments backing Taiwan.

Takaichi suggested last month that Japan would intervene militarily in any Chinese attack on the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as its own and has not ruled out seizing by force.

AFP

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Thousands Reported To Have Fled DR Congo Fighting As M23 Closes On Key City

Published

2 days ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

Fierce fighting rocked the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday as the Rwanda-backed M23 militia rapidly advanced towards the strategic city of Uvira, with tens of thousands of people fleeing over the nearby border into Burundi, sources said.

The armed group and its Rwandan allies were just a few kilometres (miles) north of Uvira, security and military sources told AFP.

The renewed violence undermined a peace agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump that Kinshasa and Kigali signed less than a week ago, on December 4.

Trump had boasted that the Rwanda-DRC conflict was one of eight he has ended since returning to power in America in January.

With the new fighting, more than 30,000 people have fled the area around Uvira for Burundi in the space of a week, a UN source and a Burundian administrative source told AFP.

The Burundian source told AFP on condition of anonymity he had recorded more than 8,000 daily arrivals over the past two days, and 30,000 arrivals in one week. A source in the UN refugee agency confirmed the figure.

The Rwanda-backed M23 offensive comes nearly a year after the group seized control of Goma and Bukavu, the two largest cities in eastern DRC, a strategic region rich in natural resources and plagued by conflict for 30 years.

Local people described a state of growing panic as bombardments struck the hills above Uvira, a city of several hundred thousand residents.

“Three bombs have just exploded in the hills. It’s every man for himself,” said one resident reached by telephone.

“We are all under the beds in Uvira — that’s the reality,” another resident said, while a representative of civil society who would not give their name described fighting on the city’s outskirts.

Fighting was also reported in Runingo, another small locality some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Uvira, as the M23 and the Rwandan army closed in.

Burundi views the prospect of Uvira falling to Rwanda-backed forces as an existential threat, given that it sits across Lake Tanganyika from Burundi’s economic capital Bujumbura.

The city is the main sizeable locality in the area yet to fall to the M23 and its capture would essentially cut off the zone from DRC control.

Burundi deployed about 10,000 soldiers to eastern DRC in October 2023 as part of a military cooperation agreement, and security sources say reinforcements have since taken that presence to around 18,000 men.

The M23 and Rwandan forces launched their Uvira offensive on December 1.

Rich in natural resources, eastern DRC has been choked by successive conflicts for around three decades.

Violence in the region intensified early this year when M23 fighters seized the key eastern city of Goma in January, followed by Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, a few weeks later.

– Regional risk –

The peace deal meant to quell the fighting was signed last Thursday in Washington by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, with Trump — who called it a “miracle” deal — also putting his signature to it.

The agreement includes an economic component intended to secure US supplies of critical minerals present in the region, as America seeks to challenge China’s dominance in the sector.

But even on the day of the signing, intense fighting took place in South Kivu, where Uvira is located, which included the bombing of houses and schools.

Witnesses and military sources in Uvira said that Congolese soldiers fleeing the fighting had arrived in the city overnight Monday and shops were looted at dawn.

Several hundred Congolese and Burundian soldiers had already fled to Burundi on Monday, according to military sources, since the M23 fighters embarked on their latest offensive from Kamanyola, some 70 kilometres north of Uvira.
Since the M23’s lightning offensive early this year, the front had largely stabilised over the past nine months.

Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye warned in February there was a danger of the conflict escalating into a broader regional war, a fear echoed by the United Nations.

Headline

‘Santa Claus’ Arrested For Possessing, Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material

Published

2 days ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

A 64-year-old man from Hamilton Township has been arrested in the United States after investigators linked him to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

The suspect, identified as Mark Paulino, had been working as a “Santa for hire” at holiday events, a role that placed him in repeated contact with children.

Mercer County officials said the investigation began on 4 December when detectives were alerted to suspicious online activity involving the uploading of child pornography from a residence in Hamilton Township. The probe quickly identified Paulino, a retired elementary school teacher, as the person involved.

Police stated that Paulino had presented himself online as a retired teacher and had recently performed as Santa Claus for photographs and private, corporate, and organisational events. “Because this role involved direct, repeated contact with children, detectives worked around the clock to secure a search warrant,” authorities explained.

The warrant was executed on 5 December, during which police seized multiple items regarded as evidentiary. Paulino was taken into custody without incident and charged with possession and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, as well as endangering the welfare of a child.

Prosecutors have filed a motion to detain him pending trial. The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have urged members of the public with relevant information to come forward.