The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, has announced the federal government’s plans to resume activities on the Abuja – Kaduna rail track after eight months of shutdown. The Minister also assured Nigerians that the government has put security measures in place to prevent the recurrence of the March 28th incident.
Why it matters
Nigerians had adopted railway travel as their preferred means of transportation due to its affordability and convenience. But with the recent incident that saw many died and others kidnapped, it is unsure what reactions Nigerians would have to it.
In case you missed it
- On the evening of March 28th, bandits attacked a passenger train carrying 362 people along the Abuja-Kaduna rail track in Northern Nigeria.
- Reports say that in this attack, bandits abducted 61 people while killing 8 passengers and injuring others. This attack also damaged the train and rail tracks of the Abuja-Kaduna rail line.
- Several weeks later, the terrorists released 11 of the 61 passengers in their custody.
- Since that time, the federal government of Nigeria has improved the rail lines infrastructure, passed extra measures to avoid the repetition of such sad events and beefed-up security at the several train stations all over the country.
The big picture
Back in September, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria, disclosed that the suspension of activities on the Abuja-Kaduna rail lines between March and August 2022, had cost the corporation about N531 million. With that much revenue, it was only a matter of time before the federal government resumed rail activities on that track.