Kaduna-Abuja Train Attack: Kidnappers Release lawyer, Hassan Usman

Post created on 9:38 am

One of the captives from the Kaduna-Abuja train attack, Barrister Hassan Usman, has regained freedom.

Hassan was released on Monday, a day after he was seen in a viral video appealing to Nigerians, the federal government, and the international community to intervene in securing their safe release from captivity.

In the video, the terrorists were seen manhandling some of the victims and flogging them with sticks while the victims cried and pleaded for help.

As the victims were being flogged, one of the terrorists, who seem unhappy with the situation, asked two of his accomplices, Ali and Abdullahi, to stop manhandling the victims.

Hassan later appeared on camera, narrating how they were kidnapped and lamenting that the Nigerian government has failed to secure their release.

In the video, he pleaded with foreign governments the US, UK, and France to help secure their release.

A family source told Nigerian Sketch that a ransom of N100 million was paid to the terrorists to get Hassan released.

He said the family had raised the money earlier and “it was some military personnel that intercepted us and denied us access to the bandits to secure the release of our brother much earlier than now.”

Hassan said two other captives may have also been released.

Although some of the train passengers kidnapped in March have been released, many after the payment of ransom, 43 of the captives including the son of a former military governor of Kano state, Idris Garba, his wife, and children are still in captivity.