Terrorists plan to attack the Abuja-Kaduna train to kidnap passengers, the Nigerian secret police, SSS, wrote in a “security alert” addressed to the Managing Director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC).
In the letter, dated August 11, the SSS said its intelligence indicates an imminent threat to the continued transportation of trains along the Abuja-Kaduna Train Service (AKTS).
He warned that a “Bandoleros Syndicate Coalition” plans to attack the train “at any time from now”. The attack is aimed at kidnapping the passengers on board for ransom, the SSS said.
The warning comes some 18 months after the terrorists attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train in March 2022. On the night of the attack, the terrorists emerged from Kaduna state’s Kateri-Rijana forest and detonated explosives to derail the Abuja-Kaduna train. Kaduna carrying 362 passengers Gunshots then came from all directions as the attackers surrounded the train, which had armed police on board, and managed to kidnap more than 100 of the passengers.
At least eight people died in the attack.
In view of the latest threat and the need to prevent potential security breaches along the Abuja-Kaduna train service, the SSS recommended that existing security arrangements within and along the route be expanded.
Among other security measures, the secret service advised: “air surveillance patrol; surveillance on the railway; checkpoint or military patrol; and a security raid will be carried out around Byazhin, Jibi, as well as in the Ija forest.”
He added that Nigerian Police Mobile Force (NPMF) operatives should be “enhanced with walkie-talkies to maintain escort services on the train.” In addition, the agency called for the “deployment of more Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) with walkie-talkies to provide escort service.”
Newslodge could not confirm whether the railway corporation had implemented the SSS advice. Pascal Nnorli, general manager of the railway corporation’s Abuja headquarters, said “he doesn’t discuss security issues over the phone” and declined to discuss the matter further.
Thousands of Nigerians use the railway as a safer and faster alternative to the road route between Abuja and Kaduna, which for years has been one of the most dangerous routes in Nigeria due to kidnappings by armed bandits.
Last year, the attack on the train sparked national outrage and new concerns about the ability of federally controlled security and intelligence systems to detect and prevent attacks.
A few days after the attack, former Kaduna state governor Nasir El-Rufai blamed the military for not attacking the terrorists, despite identifying them long before the train tragedy.
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In addition, former Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi, in an apparent attempt to absolve himself of blame, said he had long warned of possible attacks on the railway. Mr. Amaechi claimed that he had requested some digital security and crime detection equipment that could prevent such terrorist attacks on the railway, but his requests were rejected.
Several passengers were taken hostage and released in batches following negotiations with their captors after the attack. The hijackers were believed to have collected large ransoms from the families of the abductees. Tukur Mamu, the editor of the Desert Herald newspaper, negotiated the release of some of the hostages in the train hijackings. Since then, Mr. Mamu has been arrested by the Nigerian secret police, the SSS, for allegedly aiding and abetting terrorism.
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