Christian Girl, Lois John,  Abuja-Kaduna Train Victim, To Be Married By Terrorists Commander; Four Victims Released

By Adesina Soyooye

An unfortunate abductee of the Abuja-Lagos gruesome and embarrassing attack, 21-year old Christian Girl, Azurfa Lois John, is about to be forcefully married to one of the top Commanders of the Terrorist Group which abducted them.

Tukur Mamu, Publisher of the Desert Herald and Media Consultant to controversial Cleric, Sheik Abubakar Gumi, raised the alarm when he received four abductees of the tragedy who were released on Friday by their abductors.

Mamu received them in his office when they visited to thank him for his efforts which culminated in their release even though he said he had withdrawn from the mediation team.

The released four are the oldest abducted of the victims, 85 year-old Hajia Halimatu Attah, her daughter, Hajia Halimatu, 53,  Adams Mohammed Sani Abdulmaji (M.S. Ustaz, who Mamu said suggested his name to the Terrorists as a mediator), and Alhaji Modin  Modi Bodinga, an indigene of Sokoto State.

But on Miss Lois John, the a Christian girl, Mamu expressed fears over her fate. He said if urgent steps are not taken by the Federal Government,  the 21-year old, would suffer the same fate as Leah Sharibu, the student who was abducted from her school along with her colleagues but was the only one not released because she, allegedly, refused to renounce her Christian faith.

Leah has since been married off to one of her abductors, and has since, allegedly, given birth to two children in captivity.

Mamu disclosed that one of the terrorist Commanders is in love with Lois, and has concluded plans to marry her. He said the marriage would materialise if the Federal Government does not take urgent steps to rescue her. He also warned the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, not to politicise this information, but to, along with the Nigerian Government treat it as serious and urgent.

It is not known if any ransom was paid before the latest released four. But the Terrorists have, allegedly, been, receiving the sum of N100m per released victim.

Said Mamu in a statement on Friday: ” I can confirm that earlier on Friday, four additional victims of the train attack were released by their abductors. The four released victims just left my office.

“They said they came, collectively, to thank me for the past efforts I made to mediate on their behalf, and for convincing their abductors to  drop the threat of executing them, and to plead for all stakeholders, especially, the Federal Government, to intensify efforts as the condition of the remaining 23 victims they left at the forest is pathetic.

“Amongst those that were released on Friday include the oldest victim, a grand mother, Mama Halimatu Attah. She is 85 years old. Also released is her daughter, a 53 year-old married woman, Adama Attah-Aliyu ( the woman that was shown in the last video, bravely protesting and challenging her captors and lamenting failure to secure their release), the victim that first suggested my name to the abductors, as one of those to be contacted to mediate between them and the Federal Government, Mohammed Sani Abdulmaji (M.S. Ustaz), and a Sokoto indigene, Alhaji Modin Modi Bodinga were also released on Friday.

“This is to alert the Federal Government, and especially, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), that I can confirm, through credible information at my disposal, that if urgent action is not taken to immediately secure the release of the youngest victim of the train attack, a 21-year old Azurfa Lois John, the abductors, as they have done in the case of Leah Sharibu, are planning to marry her any moment from now. One of the top Commanders is said to be in love with her.

“This important information is to be treated with the urgency it deserves. Even though I know that releasing this information will not only unsettle her immediate family and loved ones, but Nigerians as a whole, it is necessary to do so to avoid a repeat of Leah Sharibu’s case.

“I advise CAN in particular not to politicise this issue or reduce it to mere press releases as I have seen in the past, but to work closely with relevant authorities to engage the abductors on her case as soon as possible, before it gets late.

“I pray that in view of the uncertainties which are becoming alarming, the Federal Government will also act very fast to ensure the release of the other victims.”

With the release of the four, 23 victims are still in captivity. They were abducted on March 28, 2022, in a commando attack after the terrorists bombed the train they boarded from Abuja to Kaduna. They followed up with gunfire, killing nine of their victims and kidnapping over 60 of them. They have been releasing them in batches.

The Federal Government has expressed its helplessness over the fate of the victims. Recently, a Presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said the FG has met every demand by the terrorists, including releasing those they asked the FG to release in exchange for the train victims. But the Terrorists reneged on their own side of the bargain to release the victims. Instead, they chose to milk the victims’ families and release only those whose families, allegedly, pay N100m per victim.