A victim of the 2022 Abuja-Kaduna train attack says he recently prayed beside one of his abductors—now working as a motorcycle rider. The man asked for forgiveness. The victim gave it. But the rest of Nigeria isn’t quite ready to move on.
What happened? Comrade MB Muhammad, once held hostage, encountered one of his kidnappers at a mosque in Kaduna. Was the abductor arrested? No. He admitted his past, claimed he had repented, and was let go.
- The encounter happened during prayers at Shema Filling Station mosque, Kaduna.
- The abductor confessed and sought forgiveness, saying he had left his old life behind.
- Muhammad forgave him, citing peace of mind and religious conviction.
- Public response has been divided, with some praising grace, others fearing what such forgiveness might enable.
This story isn’t about right or wrong—it’s about what survival does to people. In a country where justice can be slow or absent, forgiveness sometimes arrives faster than accountability. But what does that leave the rest of us with?
If your kidnapper sat beside you in a mosque, what would you do? This isn’t a parable—it’s Nigeria now. As fear wears ordinary faces and trauma walks freely, we’re all figuring out what safety looks like.
