Terrorists Bomb Kaduna Train Station in Fresh Attack, 8 People confirmed Dead
Terrorists Bomb Kaduna Train Station in Fresh Attack, 8 People confirmed Dead
The terrorists attacked Gidan train Station along the Abuja-Kaduna rail track, killing several people onboard.
Newera News learnt that the terrorists may have planted IEDs on the tracks forcing the train heading to Abuja from Kaduna to a stop.
This is the second attack within 24 hours along the same axis.
At least seven persons were killed when terrorists attacked a train at Dutse village on Monday.
Unconfirmed casualties
The Monday incident happened around 7: 45 pm at Dutse village in Chikun Local Government Area, just a few kilometres from the Rigasa train station, which is the last transit point of the train.
Although both the police and the Kaduna state government are yet to confirm the number of casualties in the attack.
The bandits were said to have opened fire, shooting sporadically on the train, and later gained access to the train.
Doctor Confirmed Chinelo Dead, Hours After Calling For Prayers
A doctor identified as Megafu Chinelo has been confirmed dead, hours after she made a post on Twitter, announcing that she had been shot on the Kaduna-bound train.
According to sources, mobile policemen attached to the train engaged the bandits in a gun duel but were tactical in their shooting so as not to exhaust their ammunitions considering how prepared the bandits were.
However, many especially those in the first and second coaches were said to have been taken away by the bandits including a pregnant woman and her baby, while about six persons were reportedly killed.
But an eyewitness who was also a passenger on the train told Channels Television that some people died while an unspecified number of passengers were taken away by the bandits.
Giving an account of the incident, the source said that the bandits planted Improvised Explosive devices along the rail track, and when the passenger train from Abuja to Kaduna got to that point, the bomb exploded twice, thereby causing the train to derail.
“About an hour later, soldiers were mobilized It was at that point that soldiers were mobilized to the area about an hour later, and they were able to disperse the bandits, who also escaped with some of the hostages”.
After calm was restored by the soldiers, the passengers walked about 45 kilometres under security cover to the Abuja-Kaduna highway, and from there, they were conveyed in buses to the 44 Nigerian Army Reference hospital in the Kaduna state capital, where those who sustained injury were immediately treated.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday.
“The President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof (Dr) Innocent A O Ujah, FNMA, FNAmed, mni and indeed all Medical and Dental Practitioners under the auspices of NMA are deeply saddened by the tragic, horrific and preventable death of one of our members, Dr Chinelo Megafu Nwando who is reported to have lost her life from injuries sustained from gun shots when the train she travelled in from Abuja to Kaduna was attacked by suspected bandits,” the statement read.
“I’m in the train, I have been shot. Please pray for me,” Dr Chinelo had tweeted, shortly after the train from Abuja to Kaduna was attacked by terrorists.
According to sources, she was a staff at St. Gerald’s hospital in Kaduna.
Terrorists Bomb Kaduna Train Station in Fresh Attack, 8 People confirmed Dead
Another twitter source also claimed that Chinelo had just resigned from her place of work and was making arrangements to leave the country.
The incident happened around 7:45 pm at Dutse village in Chikun Local Government Area, just a few kilometres from the Rigasa train station, which is the last transit point of the train.
The bandits were said to have opened fire, shot sporadically on the train, and later gained access to the train.
Terrorists Bomb Kaduna Train Station in Fresh Attack, 8 People confirmed Dead
Both the police and the Kaduna State Government are, however, yet to confirm the number of casualties in the attack.
However, the photo of the corpse of a female spotted on the train and bearing a strong resemblance with the doctor began circulating on social media on Tuesday with many tweeting their condolences.
Many have also condemned those who had trolled Chinelo following her tweet, with comments like “are you dead now” and “you’ve been shot, but you still have time to tweet”.
