“In my presence, the terrorists shot a co-passenger of the train on the head and killed him, then they moved over to me”, – A Survivors’ account

“In my presence, the terrorists shot a co-passenger of the train on the head and killed him. Then they moved over to me and dragged me by the neck, pointing a gun at my head. Only God can tell why I was not killed”.

That was a chilling account of a survivor of last Monday night attack  of a Abuja- Kaduna train by some terrorists.

Nine passengers of the train have been officially confirmed dead and several others injured and receiving treatment in hospitals. Many others of the over 300 passengers were abducted by the bandits.

Friends, relations and loved ones of those who died during the night attack have continued to mourn even as some of the survivors recounted their harrowing experiences.

Survivors’ account

A survivor of the attack, Malam Umar who narrowly escaped death, said he was yet to overcome the trauma. According to him, “the terrorists shot a co passenger on the head in my presence. After killing him, they moved over to me and dragged me by the neck while pointing a gun at my head. It is only God who can tell why I was not killed.

“But contrary to what some said that the killers were speaking a foreign language, I heard one of them speaking very good English.

“I am a graduate but that terrorist spoke better English than I could.

READ ALSO: Police confirm killing of another Ebubeagu operative in Ebonyi

The incidence keeps haunting me as I’m always frightened and disturbed, feeling as if the terrorist’s gun is still on my head, waiting for the trigger to be pulled. It’s traumatic”.

Another survivor, One Sodangi, in his own account said, “ So sad. I was busy reading my holy book and the phone of someone next to me buzzed. The guy quickly picked and his first word was ‘Noor’, and conclusively I said this must be his wife. The young man’s smile while on call was infectious. I couldn’t eavesdrop what they were saying but within a jiffy a heavy explosion interrupted. Bullets started to penetrate into our coach. When the shooting subsided, I looked around. The young man was lifeless on the floor. But his phone was still flashing and buzzing continuously, so I picked the call. The next thing I heard was ‘Baby Naji kara Mara dadi, hope Lafiya’( meaning..baby I heard an unpleasant sound. Hope it’s well). I couldn’t narrate the situation of her husband to her, I couldn’t tell her, her husband was dead. I was terrified and I wept. A minute later, she sent a text message telling her deceased husband, ‘I made your favorite’. When the security operatives arrived I handed over the phone to them and told them ‘the phone belonged to that guy lying down’. I cried throughout and couldn’t sleep that very day”.