One of the released victims of the March 28 Abuja-Kaduna train attack, Hassan Lawal Uthman, says his captors colored the sum of N100 million before setting him free.
Uthman revealed that the train attackers are not regular bandits but members of Jama?at Ahl al-Sunnah li-l-Da?away wa al-Jihad popularly called the Boko Haram terrorist group, whose operations are driven by religious ideology.
He said they are well armed and have taken over a vast area of the nation’s forests spanning about three to four states alongside the regular bandits that are equally armed with sophisticated weapons.
Narrating his experience while being held in the den of the insurgents for four months, Uthman said his captors, who later resorted to flogging the victims daily, were hitherto nice.
The former captive said the insurgents fed him and others with cow meat and even gave them N10,000 each for upkeep.
According to him, the captors claimed to be attacking government interests because the government did not allow them (insurgents) to practice their religion the way they wanted.
Uthman, a lawyer, said the terrorists also accused the government of arbitrary arrest and detention of their members, pushing them to attack government interests.
He also added that the government did not play any role in his release as the terrorists received 100 million nairas from his family.
