The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has appealed to families of victims of the train attack on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line to allow the train service to resume.
The appeal is contained in a statement issued on Friday by the director of MURIC, Prof. Ishaq Akintola.
The statement reads: “Bandits attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train on 28th March 2022, killing eight, injuring 26 and kidnapping about 300 passengers. The bandits have since been releasing their victims in batches and only 23 remain in captivity.
“Attempts by the Nigerian Railway Corporation to resume operation on the Abuja-Kaduna route was met with stiff resistance as families of abducted victims vowed to disrupt such resumption unless the victims were released. The status quo has since remained.
“MURIC sympathises with families of the victims. We feel their pain. It has been traumatizing for every patriotic Nigerian and they have been praying for the victims. The kidnapped victims are in our thoughts every day.”
The Islamic rights group advised that the sad incident should not be publicized, stressing that “it is time to move on.
“While the Federal Government must continue to work towards the release of the 23 remaining victims, we must allow the railway authorities to resume work because thousands of Nigerians who need the services are being deprived this dividend of democracy on a daily basis. Resumption of work is therefore in the best interest of a greater majority of Nigerians.
“This is where the families of the victims need to do a rethink and allow the resumption of the train services. One major reason for this is that the disruption only serves the interest of the bandits and that of enemies of Nigeria. The decision to disrupt services was made in May 2022. Four months have passed since then and the trains have remained grounded.
“That is an integral part of Nigeria’s infrastructure. If anyone thinks he is depriving President Muhammadu Buhari of the joy of achievement in the area of railway transportation by disrupting train services, such a person is making a big mistake,” Mr Akintola lamented.
The MURIC director, therefore, appealed to well-meaning Nigerians, groups and institutions to speak up on this issue.
“We must speak the truth to the families or whoever is behind the threat. The Arabs say ‘Silence on abomination is abomination (As-sukuutu ‘ala al-munkar munkar)’. Malcolm X was thinking along this line when he said, ‘I am for truth, no matter who says it. I am for justice, no matter who it is for or against’.
“Late Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto once said, ‘The greatest weapon is truth’. Isn’t it high time we use that weapon to find solution to the train impasse? Why are we not hearing any appeal targeted at the families of the train attack victims? Must thousands of innocent Nigerians continue to suffer like this?
“The continued silence of stakeholders is not the best. It is true that we can speak truth to power. But it is not to power alone. We must be ready to speak truth to the other party too. That is why Samuel Butler (1835 – 1902) said, ‘Silence is not always tact, and it is tact that is golden, not silence.’
“Permit us to reiterate that our appeal to families of the victims to allow train services to resume on the Abuja-Kaduna route should not be misinterpreted as asking us to forget the victims. FG must continue to seek ways of securing their release while Nigerians should continue praying for the safety of the remaining 23 victims,” the statement concluded.
