•Derailed Abuja-Kaduna passenger train
Workers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) under the aegis of the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers (NUR) have blamed vandalism for the derailment of the Abuja-Kaduna passenger train.
Speaking with our correspondent exclusively, the President-General of the NUR, Comrade Innocent Ajiji, explained that vandalism is the major issue confronting rail operations across the country, reports Nigerian Tribune.
According to Comrade Ajiji, “First of all, I would like to condole and commiserate with the families of those who got injured in the recent Abuja-Kaduna train. It’s not an intentional thing. What happened is beyond the NRC.
“Our tracks are well maintained on a daily and weekly basis. We have engineers who service our trains also on a weekly basis to ensure that the trains are in good condition.
“But when you have people who go and tamper with the rail tracks all in the name of track vandalism, if the train derails, do you blame the NRC? The same issue is confronting Warri-Itakpe train. The tracks have been vandalised and that’s why the train has been suspended for almost three weeks now.
“On the Abuja-Kaduna train, Asham is a flashpoint for all sort of illegal activities like vandalism. That was why the NRC had to close down the station at Asham after the accident that happened there last year.
“The blame should not be on the NRC because the railway assets are well maintained by the management. The only solution to avert incidents like what happened on the Abuja-Kaduna train is proper security of railway assets.
“Railway assets are not well secured, and that’s why they are always exposed to vandalism.”
On efforts to ensure proper security of railway assets, Comrade Ajiji stated, “We need more security officials for railway assets. The NRC has a full-fledged police command but how many policemen are in the command? We have a whole command of Civil Defence Unit, but how many officers of the Civil Defence are guiding railway assets? The railway does not have enough security officials guiding its assets.
“Government should illuminate areas where rail tracks pass through to ensure proper security at nights. More policemen and civil defence officers should be drafted to the railway command for proper policing of railway assets.
“If security of railway assets does not improve, then Nigerians should expect another derailment of another passenger train very soon.”
