China making money from Nigeria, they should help rescue train passengers, says senator

Abdulfatai Buhari, chairman of the senate committee on land transportation, has asked China to support Nigeria’s efforts to rescue the train passengers abducted in Kaduna.

On March 28, a train on its way from Abuja to Kaduna was attacked by gunmen in Kateri-Rijana area of Kaduna state.

The train was said to have been a few minutes away from the Kaduna station when the incident occurred.

While eight people were killed, a number of other passengers were abducted, but a few persons have been released by the attackers.

The China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) is the company handling Nigeria’s railway projects.

Speaking on Wednesday when the joint senate and House of Representatives committee on land transport visited the Obafemi Awolowo train station in Ibadan, the Oyo capital, Buhari said if a Chinese was among those abducted, China would have intervened.

“What effort is the Chinese government putting in place to assist the Nigerian government in rescuing these people?” the senator asked.

“The Chinese government makes money from the many rail projects that are being handled by the China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) here in Nigeria. So, asking them to help us is not out of place.

“If a Chinese national was among those people abducted, we know that the Chinese government would have come to rescue him.”