President Muhammadu Buhari has vowed to rescue 31 hostages taken in a train attack and return them “safe and unhurt”
This vow is coming five months after their abduction.
On March 28, armed men blew up a train travelling between Abuja and Kaduna and opened fire, killing eight people, wounding 26, and taking an unspecified number of passengers hostage.
A week later, they freed one hostage a top bank executive as a goodwill gesture for Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, because of his “advanced age”.
Dozens of hostages have already been freed following negotiations, but 31 remain in captivity.
President Buhari told representatives of the families of the hostages in Abuja on Thursday that his government would ensure the safe return of the remaining hostages to their families.
He assured that his primary concern is to get everyone released safe and unhurt.
The president commended the security forces on recent successes against kidnappers and “terrorists”.
Nigeria is battling myriad security challenges, including a 13-year-old insurgency in the northeast, mass kidnappings in the northwest as well as separatist tensions and oil thefts in the south.
The government is under increasing pressure to end the violence, with the security agencies appearing over-stretched on all fronts.
