Nigerian Train Resumes Operations Nine Months After Attack

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has resumed operations at the Kaduna-Abuja railway, nine months after it was suspended following one of the country's most high-profile abduction incidents.

Before the resumption of the train service, the police announced new security measures to ensure the safety of passengers along the route.

Gunmen with explosives on March 28, 2022, blew up the tracks and attacked the train travelling between Abuja and Kaduna. Eight passengers were shot and killed, 26 were wounded and an unspecified number of passengers were taken hostage.

Hostages were released in "batches" and it is suspected that families of those held, negotiated with the hostage-takers to pay for the release of their loved ones, despite the government forbidding them to do so.

Kaduna, in north-west Nigeria, is one of the states troubled by terrorism, perpetrated by armed groups called bandits by locals. These groups kill and kidnap residents of rural communities, but recent efforts by the security forces have resulted in the killings of many of the terrorists and their leaders in the state.