By Metohuey Michael Adoglo
Thirty days after the abduction of the Abuja-Kaduna bound train passengers, relatives and friends of the victims said they were still traumatized by the incident. They noted that the government had yet to reach out to them.
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The leader of the families of the victims, Dr Abdulfatai Jimoh, in Kaduna on Wednesday said they were willing to discuss with the terrorists if that remained the only option to see their loved ones released unhurt.
He said, “The situation is still the same. There is no communication from them (the bandits). It was our relations that we spoke to the last time they called. We have not spoken with the kidnappers at all.
Meanwhile, the Senate has amended the Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2013, by prohibiting payment of ransom to kidnappers in Nigeria.
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A breach of the proposed law may attract a jail term of 15 years.
The amendments are contained in the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2013 (Amendment) Bill, 2022, passed by the Senate on Wednesday following the consideration and adoption of the report by the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters.
The committee’s chairman, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who laid the report, said in his presentation that the bill sought to outlaw payment of ransom to abductors, kidnappers and terrorists for release of any person who had been wrongfully confined, imprisoned or kidnapped.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of Africanian News.
