Lead negotiator between the government and terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train in March, Mallam Tukur Mamu, has hailed Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni for the “crucial role” he played that led to the freedom of some captives.
Some of the passengers abducted from a Kaduna-bound train, including the son of Prof Ango Abdullahi and a Pakistani, were released on Saturday.
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Before the weekend, 11 had been released, while a pregnant woman and Managing Director, Bank of Agriculture were freed earlier.
In all, 43 of the over 60 passengers are still in captivity.
Mamu blamed the Federal Government for the delay in the rescue of the captives, singling out Buni for playing a commendable role.
“Behind the scenes, Yobe State Governor Mai Mala Buni has done so much to ensure the success of the mission.”
“Sincerely, I have so much respect for Governor Buni. From the information I have, there is no single Yobe citizen left in that forest. But that governor demonstrated uncommon concern on this issue. He has been in touch with me throughout, monitoring developments and even reaching out to those concerned whenever there was the need to do so.
“Governor Buni gave lots of support. This is a governor from the Northeast, far from the Northwest where we have this crisis. He told me not to publicise his efforts, but I have to,” Mamu said.
The negotiator said the distance between the military checkpoint and the remote location where the captives were secured on Saturdaywas more than 50 kilometres without an access road.
According to him, after securing the victims, the soldiers provided security cover that took them back to Kaduna.
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