March 28, this year, will remain evergreen in the memory of most Nigerians. It was the day over 100 passengers on an Abuja/Kaduna-bound train were kidnapped.

Bandits had attacked the train at about 8 O’clock in the night on that fateful day after blowing off some of the rail tracks. The attack led to the killing of about eight persons with several others injured, and over 100 abducted.

As the news of the attack went viral on the social media, the terrorists who carried out the operation claimed responsibility, requesting that their members held captive by the government be released in exchange for the hostages.

And barely 24 hours after the attack, the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, visited the scene of the attack alongside the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi; Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor; Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya; Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali; officials of the Nigerian Railway Cooperation (NRC), among other top government functionaries.

Indeed, Nigerians and the entire world rose to condemn the attack, wondering how an operation of that magnitude could be successfully executed without enough intelligence gathering by the security agencies.

And former Minister Amaechi told journalists after his visit to the scene that the attack would have been averted if the surveillance equipment he proposed to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) were installed.

Amaechi, who said he had proposed to the FEC to procure the equipment to forestall attacks on the rail infrastructure, disclosed that his request was turned down by his colleagues.

As the days went by, the terrorists began to release the hostages in batches with the the Managing Director of the Nigerian Bank of Agriculture, Alwan Hassan, as the first hostage to be released.

Others subsequently followed in batches of three, four, five and seven with staggering sums running into billions of naira paid in cash to the terrorists as ransom by their relatives.

In some cases, the relatives of the victims had to sell landed property and other valuables to raise the ransom required.

While all these were happening, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, visited the terrorists in their hideouts and pleaded with the government to facilitate their request in order to save the lives of the hostages.

The visit by the controversial Islamic teacher did not go down well with the government and the security agencies who commenced a discreet investigation on his involvement with the terrorists.

Not too long after the Sheikh Gumi episode, Tukur Mamu, a media assistant to Gumi, and publisher of Desert Herald, suddenly assumed the position of a negotiator between the government and the terrorists to secure the release of the remaining hostages.

Again his assumption as the self-acclaimed negotiator angered the security agencies as it was gathered that Mamu did not only have unhindered access to the terrorists and their families, but also personally took the monies paid as ransom to the terrorists in cash both in local and foreign currencies.

With the roles played by Gumi and Mamu, the security agencies believed that the duo may be collaborators and masterminds of the train attack and kidnap of the passengers.

But the victims remained in captivity until October 5, when the presidential committee set up by President Muhammadu Buhari announced the safe release of all the remaining 23 hostages unharmed.

News of their release was made known by the seven-man presidential committee of the Chief of Defense Staff Action Committee (CDSAC) through a statement signed by Prof Usman Yusuf.

The statement reads: “I am pleased to announce to the nation and the world that at 1600Hrs, (4:00p.m) today, Wednesday 5-10-2022, the seven-man presidential committee assembled by the Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), General L. E. O. Irabor, secured the release and took custody of all the 23 remaining passengers held hostage by Boko Haram terrorists following the attack on the Abuja to Kaduna train on 28-3-2022.

“The nation owes a debt of gratitude to the Nigerian military under the leadership of the CDS who conceived and guided the operation from start to finish. All sister security agencies and the Federal Ministry of Transportation contributed immensely to this operation.

“The unwavering support of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, is what made it all possible.

“Members of this committee are grateful for the rare honour and privilege to be part of this humanitarian operation.”

TUKUR MAMU’S ARREST

Before the arrest of Tukur Mamu, it was gathered that the Nigerian Armed Forces working in conjunction with the Department of State Services (DSS) and the security agencies placed surveillance around him over his (Mamu’s) successful negotiations that led to the release of about 20 hostages.

Part of the investigations the security agencies were looking out for included who appointed Mamu as negotiator, how payment for ransom by relatives of the captives were paid, who takes the monies to the terrorists, how much gets to the terrorists from the total sum paid by their relatives?

Sunday Sun also gathered that the investigators concentrated on how he facilitated the payment of ransom and the people who collected it from him.

A top security officer who does not want to be mentioned in print told Sunday Sun that “everybody in this country and outside this country knows that we have been battling with terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and what have you and we are not folding our hands as security agencies on these happenings.

“A situation where one person suddenly appears and begins to act as negotiator to free abducted hostages, if you ask me, is very suspicious. And what right thinking persons should start asking themselves, is Tukur Mamu the only Nigerian capable of handling this job?

“They should also be asking, who made him or appointed him as negotiator, or is it because he is a media practitioner and his colleagues in the media don’t see anything bad about it? We are also looking at how did he know the terrorists and why is it that he is the only one who knows them out of the over 200 million Nigerians?

“Is he one of the terrorists, who and how does the monies paid as ransom by relatives of the hostages get to the terrorists and how much gets to the terrorists compared to what their family members have been telling the public they paid to get their relatives released?”

Another source who also does not want to be mentioned too in print, said that monies running into billions of naira have been paid to bandits, terrorists, kidnappers and other criminals was beginning to give the government and the citizens a lot of concern.

According to the source, “more worrisome is the fact that these criminals are no longer using the banks and other financial institutions to carry out their transactions for fear of being tracked. So you see, they have resorted to getting raw cash and using certain persons to carry out their plans. If we don’t do anything now, then things will get worse before the 2023 general elections.

“If we fold our hands and do nothing, what is happening in other climes will be child’s play.

What Nigerians should be asking at this point in time is that why should Tukur Mamu be believed and another person cannot be believed?

“So, we will carry out our investigations and get to the bottom of this, and if Mamu is found innocent, he would be set free. But so far, I can tell you that we have made some breakthrough with the arrest of some persons and recoveries of valuable evidences to aid in our prosecution.” It is believed that the abductors of the Kaduna-Abuja train victims collected well over N1 billion as ransom.

INVESTIGATION

Sources told Sunday Sun that monies exchanged hands before the last 23 hostages were released, but top intelligence officers, who spoke to Sunday Sun, could not confirm this.

Rather, they hinted that the military and other security agencies played a great role to set the remaining hostages free.

It was also gathered that several of the bandits were arrested during a raid on their camp located along the Abuja/Kaduna highway and some parts of Niger State.

The source, however, said that he could not give an accurate figure of the number of terrorists arrested, saying the reason was so as not to jeopardize ongoing investigations.

The source further revealed that as investigations continue, the security agencies have placed surveillance on Sheikh Gumi, an ex-governor of one of the Northeast states and a former governor of one of the Southeast states.

It was gathered that intelligence has revealed that these persons have continued to play a great role for terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes that are making life unbearable in the country.

Indeed, the Director General of the DSS, Bichi, had during a ceremony organized to mark his four years in office by personnel of the agency vowed to cage all terrorists sponsors before the 2023 general elections.

At the ceremony held at the service headquarters in Abuja, the DG, who spoke on the daunting security challenges in the country promised to cage all those responsible for the wicked act and bring them to their knees no matter their status in the society.

He called on members of staff of the agency to up their game to ensure peace is restored in the country in the shortest possible time.

The DG, while listing terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes as some of the insecurity bedeviling the nation, said that the service would no longer fold its arms to watch those perpetrating these evils to move about and carry on with their deadly activities.

He said the DSS, whose shoulder the military, police, the various security agencies and indeed the general public rely on for intelligence, is working round the clock to rid all criminals and their sponsors out of the way before the 2023 general elections.

Bichi said that the agency was more than ever well equipped with state-of-the-art technological equipment and manpower, who have undergone various trainings within and outside the country, to render the services which it was established for.

He said in the coming days, weeks and months, Nigerians would get to know those who have been championing the insecurity in the country, using religion and other dubious means as cover to perpetrate their evil acts to the detriment of innocent and law-abiding citizens.

He said these set of people would not be allowed to escape as they are been monitored for 24 hours.

ALLEGED CONNIVANCE BY SECURITY AGENCIES

But while all these investigations are ongoing, there have been allegations and counter-allegations over the involvement and connivance of some unscrupulous members of the Armed Forces, the police and security agencies in aiding the activities of these criminals.

It was gathered that the authorities in the military and security agencies have confirmed that there are some saboteurs in its ranks, adding that some of them have been arrested just as they have made useful confession to the investigating officers handling their matters.

Specifically, it was gathered that some unscrupulous personnel of the security agencies were involved in the payment of ransom, as well as providing security to the negotiators without the knowledge of their superiors.

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