On 14 April 2014, 276 schoolgirls were abducted by Boko Haram from a secondary school in Chibok, a town in northeast Nigeria.
Since then, abductions have continued. Between December 2020 and October 2021, 1,436 schoolchildren – and 17 teachers – were abducted from schools in Nigeria by armed Boko Haram terrorists.
Although, security reports were sent by former president Goodluck Jonathan to the then governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, to shut down schools to avoid the impending kidnapping, governor Shettima refused to heed the security advise. 276 school girls from Chibok were kidnapped by Boko Haram.
Of the more than 1,500 school children who have been abducted in northern Nigeria since the Chibok attack, at least 120 students remain in captivity. They are mostly schoolgirls, and their fate remains unknown. Leah Sharibu, still remain in captivity.
Boko Haram came to be defined as a terrorist group that does not demand for ransome for the release of kidnapped victims.
Let’s fast forward to March 28, 2022. This day, sadly, will remain etched in the memory of most Nigerians. It was the day over 100 passengers on an Abuja-Kaduna bound train were kidnapped.
Boko Haram terrorists attacked the train at about 8P.M in the night of that fateful day, after blowing off the rail tracks. The attack led to the killing of about eight persons with several others injured, and over 100 abducted.
As news of the attack went viral on social media, the terrorists who attacked the train requested that their members held captive by the federal government be released in exchange for the hostages.
As the days went by, the terrorists began to release the hostages, with the Managing Director of Nigerian Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan, became the first hostage to be released. The family of Alwan paid the sum of 100 million Naira to terrorists for his release.
Subsequently, other victims were released by paying humongous of money running into one billion Naira paid in cash to the terrorists as ransom for their release by relatives.
Right from the beginning of the kidnapping of the Abuja-Kaduna train passengers, the terrorists did not demand for ransome. It is interesting to note that immediately after Sheikh Gumi visited the camp of the terrorists, the terrorists started to demand for payment of ransom to free the victims from their families.
Trust security agencies, they took the visit of Gumi to the terrorists with a pinch of salt.
Immediately after, Tukur Mamu, a special media assistant to Gumi, also suddenly appeared as a negotiator between tgovernment, the terrorists and families of victims to secure their release.
The roles played by Gumi and Mamu in the release of the Managing Director of the Nigerian Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan; the unhindered access to the terrorists at their hidden location; collection of ransom from their families and their personal delivery of these monies paid as ransome to the terrorists in cash, both in local and foreign currencies, should raise red flags in a normal, thoughtful person and all of us.
It is on record that terrorists received over 1 billion Naira in cash as ransome payment to free victims.
Without stretching our foolishness, the roles played by Gumi and Mamu, portrays them as persons of special interest in the matter of the release of victims – they may be direct beneficiaries of ransome paid by families of the victims.
That the victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack remained in custody of terrorists until October 5, 2022, until they were ‘released’, calls for deep introspection by Nigerians.
Nigerians are still in shock for the abduction of the victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack. Security agencies should focus their investigation on Gumi and Mamu, as persons of interest in the collection, negotiations for ransome with victims families and their role in negotiations with terrorists!
Families of victims cannot actually guarantee that the sums of money they actually gave to Mamu as ransome are commensurate with the value of cash delivered to the terrorists.
As for Gumi, the search light should be beamed on his past negotiations with past kidnapped cases and ransome paid.
Until today, not one demand for ransome has been made for one victim of the Chibok secondary school girls abduction by Boko Haram!
Could it be right to assume that the intervention of Sheikh Gumi and his assistant, Tukur Mamu, to negotiate the release of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack victims is responsible for Boko Haram terrorists to change their tradition of kidnapping not for ransome payment to be demanding ransome for kidnapped victims?
The release of the last 23 passengers of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack victims on October 5, 2022, by terrorists should not pull down the curtains on further investigation to unravel the identities of the kingpins and master minds behind these criminal acts.
As we approach the 2023 general elections, the need to sanitise the North of criminal activities, especially Boko Haram terrorists, cannot be over emphasised.
May the souls of victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack rest in peace.