One of the ring-leaders of the Abuja to Kaduna train attack that occurred last March is planning to “marry” the youngest of the kidnap victims, 21-year-old Azurfa Lois John, a source has said.
Publisher of the Desert Herald newspaper, Malam Tukur Mamu, who had served as a mediator in the case in the past, told the New Citizen in a statement Friday that the so-called ‘marriage’ could take place “any moment from now” if urgent action is not taken to secure her release.
Mamu called on the government and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to take action to forestall this eventuality, the type that befell the Chibok girl Leah Sharibu in Borno State.
“One of the top commanders is said to be in love with her,” he said, adding, “This important information should be treated with the urgency it deserves.
“Even though I know that releasing this information will not only unsettle her immediate family and loved ones but Nigerians as a whole, it is necessary to do so to avoid the repeat of Leah Sharibu’s case.
“I advise CAN in particular not to politicise this issue or reduce it to mere press releases as I have seen in the past but to work closely with relevant authorities to engage the abductors on her case as soon as possible before it is late.”
The publisher further disclosed that the terrorists today released four more victims of the train attack, including a 90-year-old woman.
According to Mamu, “The four released victims just left my office. They said they came collectively to thank me for the past efforts I made to mediate on their behalf and for convincing their abductors to drop the threats of executing them and to plead for all stakeholders, especially the Federal Government, to intensify efforts as the condition of the remaining 23 victims they left at the forest is pathetic.”
He added: “Those that were released on Friday included the oldest victim, a grandmother, Mama Halimatu Atta. She is 90 years old. Also released is her daughter, 53-year-old married woman, Adama Atta Aliyu (the woman that was bravely shown in the last video protesting and challenging her captors and lamenting failure to secure their release).”
Mamu, who holds the traditional title of Dan’iyan Fika in Yobe State, also said: “The victim that first suggested my name to the abductors, as one of those to be contacted to mediate between them and the Federal Government, Mohammed Sani Abdulmaji (M.S. Ustaz), and a Sokoto indigene, Alhaji Modin Modi Bodinga, were also released on Friday.”
He said: “I pray that in view of the uncertainties which is becoming alarming, the Federal Government will also act very fast to ensure the release of all the remaining victims.”
