Train Bombing: FG Don’t Know Number   Of  Missing  Passengers

Nigeria is yet to account for the number of people that were kidnapped on the Abuja-Kaduna train bomb blast on Monday night.

The  country’s Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi spoke on Tuesday during the on the ground assessment of the attack on train Monday night.

He said eight passengers were killed in the train attack.

According to him,398 passengers were on the train and the Nigerian Railway Cooperation is still trying to make contact with the passengers on the manifest,though there were staffs of the NRC and security officials who were not on the manifest.

He said the lives of Nigerians who died in the attack would have been if the  approval for the procurement of technology worth N3 billion was not delayed.

“ I had warned earlier that it is important they get us this approval because human lives would be involved. Since that warning till today, we have had two similar incidents”.

“The cameras in the train cannot pick what is happening outside. What we need is a camera that shows 100 metres away from the train.

“Then, we can take precaution but we have done all we need to do in the Ministry of Transportation and we have forwarded to them for approval but we have not gotten approval.

“If those items were here, drones alone will tell you that there are people around the rail tracks because there are drones, there are equipment that pick sensors if you touch the track but unfortunately the process has not been able to get us that approval for us to import those items.

On the figures persons missing during the incident, the minister said they don’t have all the figures of missing persons, kidnapped and those injured .

He said the numbers they have is that there are eight casualties. “There are 25 persons in the hospital and the total number of passengers are 398.

“So, we have to wait on the security and the Kaduna state government and the Nigerian Railway Cooperation ( NRC) are all trying to make contact with those on the manifest.

“There are few persons who are not on the manifest like the staff of the NRC, staff of the cleaning contractor, they are not on the manifest and we may not be able to completely account for them but those on the manifest, calls are being made to reach them.

He said the patrol vehicles are available but they cannot reach everywhere adding that they are  thinking about the possibility of employing natives until we get those equipment. “ Beyond the drones, we need helicopters.

“The solution is not in running away from the militants or the bandits. The solution is providing the technology that lets you know that they are around.

“Even if they get us approval, it will take some months to acquire them from overseas to install them. We need to do that to enable us see from Kaduna-Abuja, Itakpe-Warri and from Lagos-Ibadan railways, so that we don’t continue to lose lives because lives are important,” he said .