Insecurity: FG’s negligence, poor planning, reasons for recurring train attacks

…Railway revenue, public interests decline

…Expert calls for CCTV installation, early warning mechanisms

By Ezra Ukanwa, Abuja

In recent times, the increasing train attacks in the country have become not just worrisome but an embarrassment, considering its peculiarity in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria.

Each time the conversation around Nigerian transportation pops up, the railway system seems to have a front-row seat in the conversation and this could be relatively hinged on President Muhammadu Buhari-led Administration to improve the state of railway transport in the country.

Aside from the many potentials spawning a massive revenue base; ease of boarding, among others, the standout in this discussion that is gradually grounding the railway subsector, is the multifaceted security challenges upon the passengers and the railway infrastructures.

In recent times, Nigeria has suffered no fewer than four train attacks which respectively placed the country on standstill, leading to the shutdown of her train operations for months. One of such was the Abuja-Kaduna train attack on March 28, 2022, that led to the kidnapping of about 168 passengers and killing of eight others.

The victims were, however, released in batches with the last 23 freed in October. The train station was built with a $500m loan the government took from the China Exim Bank at a 2.5 per cent annual interest rate. The loan is to be repaid over 20 years with a grace period of seven years.

The project was completed in 2016 by the Chinese Construction Company. The former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had in a television interview said that the Federal Government had paid $150m of the loan.

Again, last week, innocent passengers waiting to board a train from the Igueben station in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State to Warri in Delta State were kidnapped by suspected herdsmen.

Confirming this development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Edo State Police Command, DSP Chidi Nwabuzor, in a statement said many of the travellers were also reportedly injured.

The statement claimed that the abductors, armed with AK 47, invaded the train station and shot sporadically into the air before abducting scores of intending travellers into the bush.

The Edo State Police Command confirmed that many of the passengers sustained bullet wounds.

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The Itakpe-Warri train is the only train service for passengers going to the South-East and South-South. Passengers going to Benin, Warri, Agbor, Asaba, Port Harcourt, Yenagoa and Aba patronise the train service.

The Itakpe-Warri train attack occurred barely 10 months after the Abuja-Kaduna train was attacked.

In February 2022, gunmen invaded the Ajaokuta train station, kidnapped 10 people and killed one person. Ajaokuta is in the Kogi Central Senatorial District.

The attack forced the Nigerian Railway Corporation, which regulates train services in the country, to suspend operations on Lagos-Ibadan and Ajaokuta train services.

Also, in August last year, the Nigerian Railway Corporation suspended the Lagos-Kano and Ajaokuta train services due to fear of terrorist attacks.

Negligence and poor planning

With at least the first three attacks, one would think that the Federal Government with all its budgetary allocations on security and its promises to be more proactive with securing the rail system, the attacks on trains should have been adequately forestalled.

But, with the recent attack on passengers waiting to board a train from the Igueben station in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State to Warri in Delta State, it projects the level of negligence and unpreparedness of the Federal Government to secure lives and properties in the country. Truly, lessons from other attacks have not been adequately learnt hence the lethargic and fire-brigade approach that followed.

It was until the recent attack that the Federal Government decided to collaborate with host communities to ensure that security is facilitated and an intelligence mechanism installed.

The Minister of State for Transportation, Prince Ademola Adegoroye, the day after the attack, decided to pay a visit to the Tom Ikimi train station in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State, where he solicited Nigerian Railways and host communities security committees to be established, as part of efforts to curb the incidence of armed attacks on the nation’s rail infrastructure and passengers.

While sympathising with the victims of the unfortunate attack, the Minister said: ”the intention of the perpetrators of this heinous crime is to sabotage the great efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari towards the resuscitation of the rail transport service. Henceforth the government will take proactive measures to forestall train station attacks in the country and ensure the safety of passengers and facilities.”

On his part, the Managing Director, of Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, Fidet Ohkiria, disclosed that the attacks in the Nigeria Railway system were deliberate, claiming that security cannot be 100 per cent guaranteed.

Speaking to our correspondent, an eyewitness said that the kidnappers that attacked the sub-station of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC in Igueben, Edo State and abducted about 20 passengers and staff on Saturday, struck because the train station was not protected by security men.

He said: “The train normally arrives by 5 pm, so at about 20 minutes to 5, the outlaws came through the bush path and invaded the place, taking away the station manager, booking clerk and about 29 other passengers made up of males and females.

‘’The DPO, Igueben and his men, the Esan Akatakpa Security network, the hunters association have been in the forest since last night (Saturday night) doing bush combing. We are hoping that by the end of today, (yesterday), they will be rescued.

“The railway station is in the forest, there is no security, no police, no vigilante and they are at the mercy of God. The station is in Igeueben town, just about 1.2 km away from Igueben General Hospital.”

Reacting to this also the Benin state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, criticized the state for it’s failure to provide security for the people despite the governor being the Chief Security Officer of the state

A statement late by the State Publicity Secretary, Peter Igbinigie Esq said: “it is saddening to experience this especially when we are still basking in the euphoria of the new year.

“However, this smack of the lack in the security apparatus in Edo State has been expected of the Chief Security Officer: Governor Godwin Obaseki. We have severally demanded that the Governor should explain to the Edo people what he does with the humongous security vote he receives from the Federal Government monthly. We are also not unaware that the Governor receives not less than N800m monthly to tackle insecurity in Edo State monthly.”

Also, it was until the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train that the Federal Government thought it wise to propose in the 2023 Appropriation Bill to spend over N30 billion on the installation of Acoustical Sensing Security surveillance system for the Abuja (IDU)-Kaduna railway, including other items in the 2023 budget, among other projects, while other train stations were not budgeted for on security.

Sharp decline of revenue, patronage of train transportation

Rail transport revenue grew year-on-year, YoY, by 42 per cent to N2.93 trillion in the first six months of 2022, January – June, from N2.07 trillion in the corresponding period of 2021.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics,, NBS, Rail Transportation data for the second quarter of this year, Q2’22, showed that the N2.93 trillion revenue generated in the review period comprises N2.7 trillion generated from passengers, N157.76 million generated from goods and N107.64 million from other income receipts.

However, the data showed that revenue generated from passengers in Q2’22, fell YoY by 44.7 per cent to N598.73 million from N1.08 trillion in Q2’21.

This was as a result of a 25.3 per cent decline in rail transport passengers to 422,393 in Q2’22 from 565,385 passengers in Q2’21, all thanks to the incessant attacks on train stations and passengers.

The NBS in its report said: “The rail transportation statistics in Q1’22 revealed that 953,099 passengers travelled via train relative to 424,460 reported in the corresponding quarter of 2021, representing a growth rate of 124.54 per cent.

“In addition, 32,139 tons of goods were transported in the first quarter of 2022, compared to 9,071 tons reported in Q1’21, showing a growth rate of 254.3 per cent.

“In terms of revenue generation, N2.07 billion was received from passengers over the period, higher by 132.82 per cent relative to N892.46 million in Q1’21.

“Similarly, N71.76 million was collected in Q1’22 as revenue from goods/cargos, compared to N18.89 million in Q1’21.

“Other receipts grew by 619.34 per cent in Q1’22, recorded at N57.92 million from N8.05 million in Q1’21.

“In Q2 ’22, passengers declined by 25.29 per cent, reported at 422,393 relatives to passengers in Q2’21 which stood at 565,385. “Revenue generated from passengers was N598.73 million, a decrease of 44.76 per cent from N1.08 billion in the same period last year.

“More so, revenue generated from goods in Q2 ’22 amounted to N86 million, higher by 14.34 per cent compared to N75.21 million reported in Q2′ 21.

“Other income receipts stood at N49.72 million, an increase of 988.92 per cent from the N4.56 million recorded in the same period of the preceding year.”

To corroborate these statistics, our correspondent who visited the IDU train station on Thursday, in Abuja, observed that the influx of passengers into the train station was not as it used to be.

A passenger who gave his name as Obiora Paul told our correspondent that he was supposed to travel with his family on the Kaduna-bound train, but because of previous incidents, his family took the alternative.

“Train is a good system of transportation and it is a welcome development in Nigeria. My family and I used to be great users of this means of transportation but until that day when the train was attacked, we couldn’t stop imagining that we were part of those that were either kidnapped, brutalised or killed. It was from that day my family decided that they would never use the train again. They now prefer buses or small vehicles from parks. The reason I am boarding this train is that I need to be in Kaduna very soon to set something up before my family comes to join me.

“I believe this anxiety is not just peculiar to my family, particularly my wife, but it is also the same apathy in many households. Yes, the train station has started operation but have they done the needful to secure the train and its station? Now, there is a fresh attack on the same train from Edo. Seriously, the government should not allow this train to fold up. They must do something that is intelligent enough to arrest the situation”, Paul said.

Also, a National Youth Service Corp, NYSC, member, Rahila Mustapha, told our correspondent that her decision to board the train was based on circumstances that on an ordinary day, she wouldn’t make the choice of a train transport because of the recent attack.

She said: “In Nigeria, one of the most porous transportations we have is the train. We have had a series of attacks and yet the government is attending to it as business as usual. The reason I decided to board this train today is that there is something I must pick in Kaduna today. If not, I won’t accept it because it is a big risk and I am only praying that I keep safe.”

On her part, Adewale Olusola, said: “Most of us were very excited about rail transportation, especially for the comfort and speed it affords. But since the March attack and kidnap of passengers of the Abuja-Kaduna train, I have been very afraid. When I saw the videos of how the hostages were being tortured, it made me even wearier of road and rail transportation as a whole. I’d rather save enough for a flight or remain where I am.”

Security plan

On the recent Edo train station attack, Vanguard had reported that the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, had dispatched police special squads, including the Intelligence Response Team and Anti-Terrorism Squad to Edo State to rescue the victims to complement the efforts of the police in the state.

Also, to fortify the Abuja-Kaduna train station, the Federal Government said that it had introduced a new system of purchasing tickets, which the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, said was the beginning of security checks. He noted that it would enable them to ascertain who boards the train at every point in time.

In the same vein, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, ordered the immediate deployment of armed officials drawn from the police Mobile Force K-9, Force Intelligence Bureau, Explosive Ordnance Unit and the Railway Police Command for the recommencement of railway services Abuja-Kaduna rail route from Monday, December 5, 2022.

The force spokesperson, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, also noted in a statement that the IG assured the general public, especially intending passengers, of adequate protection of lives and properties, adding that all hands were on deck to fortify the railway services along the route and other rail lines across the country.

Expert speak

A security and intelligence expert, Dr Kabiru Adamu, who played host to a television program, said that the entire railway system in the country is vulnerable to attacks.

Adamu lamented the absence of security operatives at the train station as well as security gadgets like CCTVs that could help in the investigation an early detection of what transpired.

His words: “Accountability is a major challenge. We have a minister of information who promised us that the security level on the railway is adequate and is confident that that is why he is resuming the rail services when the Abuja-Kaduna rail service was resumed and I’m sure he felt that that applied to all the railway infrastructure in the country.

“But unfortunately this incident has shown clearly and has confirmed what we said when he (the minister) made that statement. Earlier on I explained what a good security posture in any location should be, and I can tell you with all sense of responsibility that the entire railway infrastructure, unfortunately, remains vulnerable.”

Adamu further said preventive measures like CCTVs should be installed in all railway stations and states across the country, adding that the attacked station didn’t have any CCTV that would have helped in the case of an attack.

He also added that early warning systems through traditional rulers, communities, market councils and others should be effectively utilised to forestall or even prevent further attacks, as information or intelligence could be shared early to prevent attacks of any kind.

The big question remains: will the Federal Government continue to approach matters bothering security as if making hay when the sun was out already? The Federal Government must now begin to deploy the same strategy it channelled to Abuja-Kaduna train station to other train stations and substations across the country and this must be done fast and early enough. It is high time the Federal Government stopped its fire-brigade approach to security matters.

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