The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) restored the once-embattled train service between the capital Abuja and Kaduna on Monday, which had been stopped since March when gunmen killed passengers and abducted dozens.
Northern Nigeria has been besieged by armed gangs that have targetted villages and highways and kidnapped people for ransom, as well as a long-running conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions.
In October, the Nigerian military secured the release of the remaining 23 captives from the train attack. The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had stated that the railway service would begin only when all hostages had been released.
“We are starting afresh and I pray we will not have a re-occurrence of that ugly incidence by God’s grace,” said Ganiyat Adesina-Uthman, a lecturer who was travelling to Kaduna for the first time since March.
Passengers were asked to produce national identity numbers, and the train was guarded by armed security operatives.
