Special Assistant to President Muahmmadu Buhari on Media, Garba Shehu, has said that negotiations are ongoing to ensure the release of the victims of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack.

Nine were said to have been killed, over 20 others sustained injuries from gunshots, and many passengers were abducted when bandits attacked an Abuja-Kaduna train in March.

Shehu disclosed this during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Friday.

He said, “We’re aware that there has been resistance from the family members of those who have been taken captive. Of course, this is expected. This acts as pressure on one of the people involved in the discussion with the terrorists to ensure a safe release of those that have been held.

“The position of the government has been stated and restated over time that the success of any operation will be determined by the number of recoveries of human beings alive and well not the return of dead bodies. The government has spoken about the fact that negotiations are ongoing, although a bit difficult, we hope that we return to normalcy.

Speaking on what the government is doing to safeguard rail tracks in the country, Garba Shehu said, “The matter is with the secrete security service but they don’t have their findings on display. They have done most that can lead to the establishment of credibility between themselves and those they are talking to.

“Yes, there is an improvement in security. The air surveillance has been announced by the former minister of transportation and the president as far as we know has okayed electronic monitoring and surveillance and will ensure that there is the tracking of far and near the rail track not only on Kaduna-Abuja but also Ibadan-Lagos track.”