General News
Kidnapped Train Passengers Are Not Insured Against Terror Attacks – FG Officials
Senior officials of the Federal Government have said that the Abuja-Kaduna train that was bombed by terrorists on March 28, 2022, in Kaduna State as well as passengers who boarded the train were all insured but not against terror attacks.
Punch reported that N50 was paid as a premium to two indigenous insurance companies on every train ticket purchased by passengers who boarded the Abuja-Kaduna train.
It was also learnt that the terrorists have refused to speak with relatives of those abducted with respect to negotiating the release of the kidnapped travellers, and have instead opted to negotiate with government who they said is aware of their demands.
When the publication asked if the bombed train was insured, officials at the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Railway Corporation allegedly replied in the affirmative.
They, however, stressed that the insurance of the train was not against terror attacks, though efforts were ongoing to see how the insurance companies would support the government.
An official at the transportation ministry, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter said;
“Why we have not gone public about this yet is because they (insurance companies) said that any terrorist act is not covered by insurance.
“But on the train tickets, for every passenger, N50 is paid as premium for insurance. The train itself is insured but that does not cover acts of terrorism or banditry.
“However, we are still trying to convince them (insurance firms) to see reasons why something could be done. But the argument has been that acts of banditry and acts of God are not insured.”
An official at the NRC also said that two indigenous companies were in charge of the insurance of passengers, while there were different other firms handling the insurance for the coaches, rolling stock and others.
He added;
“Yes, we have about two Nigerian insurance companies that are in charge of passengers’ insurance, while the train itself is being handled by other firms”
One Idayat Yusuf, whose two sisters were abducted by terrorists during the attack on the train, told the publication that the families of those kidnapped had lost hope in the government.
She said the kidnappers had insisted that they would not speak with the family members of those abducted, and no condolence message had been sent to the families of those who lost their loved ones in the train attack, nor to families of passengers who were abducted during the incident.
Idayat said;
“The threat to kill those abducted, including my sisters, has increased fear among family members of the kidnapped train passengers. This is because life means nothing to terrorists.
“We are in fear and we have lost hope in the government because you don’t know how true is whatever they are telling the public on this matter. They will tell you this and you will find out that they are not actually doing what they told you.
“Before we staged the protest at Radio House in Abuja last week, we had earlier heard that they (government) were negotiating. But when we got to Radio House we now realised that honestly, they don’t have anything they want to do. They don’t have any plan to release those who were abducted.
“This shows how insensitive the government is about this issue and until we see our family members back home we don’t believe what they are saying about negotiating for the release of the passengers.
“It is just unfortunate on our own part that the kidnappers said they are not talking to us. Otherwise, we will strive to settle them to bring our family members back home to us. But it is beyond us.
“They don’t want to talk to us, they say they don’t have any business with us, that the government knows what they want.
“They said if the government didn’t talk to them, they would turn their camp into a slaughterhouse.
“If not that they want the government to talk to them, we would have released our family members secretly without the government even knowing how we did it.”
At 31, Lagos-born Espago is redefining what it means to be a late bloomer in the Nigerian music
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he hasn’t performed live yet, he’s putting in the work behind the scenes, mentoring new artists,
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making, but for who he is becoming.
Rising artist Derriq isn’t just making music for entertainment; he’s building a legacy rooted in culture, resilience, and pride. The Lagos-based Afro-soul and Afrobeats singer has his eyes set on something bigger than streaming numbers: putting his hometown of Benin City on the global creative map is his dream.
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For interviews and press: derriqmusic@gmail.com
Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. President Bola Tinubu will address the nation in a broadcast today, Sunday, August 4, 2024. Mr Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, announced this in a statement, on Saturday, saying the broadcast would hold at 7am.
2. The Commissioner of Police in Borno State, Yusuf Lawal, on Saturday confirmed the killing of four persons along Baga Road in Maiduguri, Borno State during the nationwide #EndBadGoverment protest. He said Boko Haram elements infiltrated the protesters and killed four persons on Thursday with explosives at a filling station.
3. Many persons have been feared killed while others sustained injuries as hoodlums clashed with security operatives in Kano. It was gathered that Rijiyar Lemo, Kurna to Bachirawa areas in Fagge Local Government, Kofar Nassarawa in Kano municipal and Unguwa Uku area of Tarauni Local Government are the worst hit areas.
4. The leadership of the organised labour, on Saturday, warned the Nigeria Police Force and other security forces to stop what it described as a “massacre” of protesters carrying out nationwide demonstrations against hunger in the land.
5. Leading Human Rights group, Amnesty International Nigeria, has said over 50 protesters were arrested in Abuja on the third day of the demonstration against hardship in the land.
6. Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has urged the police and other security agencies to stop shooting and killing protesters demanding good governance in Nigeria. Atiku in a statement on Saturday, questioned the professionalism of the security agencies in the handling of the ongoing demonstrations.
7. Some of the organisers and supporters of the ongoing protest have set up pages to raise over N4bn through GoFundMe, a popular online crowdfunding platform. A check on Saturday showed that a total of N4.1bn had been benchmarked to be donated through accounts created by three GoFundMe users.
8. Tragedy struck again in Imo State on Saturday evening when some gunmen reportedly shot dead the President-General of Umucheke Okwe autonomous community in Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo State, Hyginus Ohazurike. Six village heads from the autonomous community were also allegedly killed by the gunmen.
9. The Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, Bennett Igweh has said his men were not responsible for the death of a teenager in the Kubwa area of the FCT. In a viral video, a man claimed that police, while dispersing protesters, shot dead a teenager in the Kubwa area.
10. The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu has said President Bola Tinubu is keeping an eye on the ongoing #EndBadGovernance demonstrations across the country.
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