A negotiator said on Sunday that gunmen who attacked a train in Kaduna state, northwest Nigeria, in March released seven more hostages after talks.

Bandits with no ideological or religious motivations have been known to kidnap for ransom in northwest and central Nigeria.

Tukur Mamu, who is not affiliated with the government but negotiated the hostage deal, stated on Saturday that the group, which included six men and a woman, was released because they required "urgent medical attention."

"Seven more hostages were released yesterday... one of them is a Pakistani expatriate, the only foreigner among the hostages," he told AFP.

"Eighteen hostages have been released through negotiations I spearheaded, while 44 remain in captivity," he added.

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Mamu, the publisher of the local news magazine Desert Herald in Kaduna's northern city, was approached by the gunmen to mediate hostage negotiations.

Armed men detonated a bomb on a train traveling from Abuja to Kaduna on March 28 and opened fire, killing eight people, injuring 26, and kidnapping an unknown number of passengers.

One hostage, a top bank executive, was released a week later as a gesture of goodwill for Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting, due to his "advanced age".

According to Mamu and security sources, the train attack was carried out by Ansaru, a Boko Haram breakaway faction.

Previous release 

After a month of back-channel negotiations, Mamu facilitated the release of the first group of 11 hostages in exchange for eight children belonging to the train attackers.

Mamu claimed no ransom was paid for the hostages' release, claiming he only made a "passionate and sustained appeal" to the captors due to the hostages' deteriorating health.

"The captors had earlier threatened to start executing the hostages in response to the government's failure to negotiate with them and meet their demands," he said.

The demands included the release of 16 of the group's commanders who were imprisoned, including its leader, Khalid Barnawi, who was sentenced to life in prison.