November 30, 2022/CSL Research

According to a Punch news report, The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Transportation, on Sunday, extended the resumption date for the Abuja-Kaduna rail services from the earlier communicated November 28 resumption date. The Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, disclosed this to newsmen in Kaduna while on an inspection of the facility before commencement of the rail operations. The Minister did not give a specific date for the resumption but noted that the rail service would notremain shut for more than a week more. Earlier in March 2022, a train heading to Kaduna was attacked at Katari, Kaduna State.

Approximately 970 passengers were on board, about eight people were killed, twenty-five people were injured and around sixty people were abducted into the bush by the marauding
bandits.

The Federal government, after the incident, halted the operations of the train services and committed itself to ensuring there were no further attacks. Eight months later, all abducted victims have been reunited with their families and the Federal Government has perfected plans to resume train services along the route. Mu’azu Sambo noted that a new system has been introduced which requires passengers to provide a phone number and a national identification number (NIN) before tickets can be purchased. He also noted that there would be constant security presence along the Abuja-Kaduna route and night travels will no longer be allowed. He reiterated that the Nigerian railway corporation was 90% ready to restart operations and pointed that the postponement of the resumption was to give adequate time for citizens to assimilate the new schedule.

The Abuja-Kaduna expressway is notorious for kidnapping and banditry. The 211-kilometre expressway, which is the link between the FCT and the North-western part of the country, makes a suitable spot for kidnappers because many travelers use the route.

The Abuja Kaduna route forms a critical part of the country’s larger highway system, enabling the movement of people and products from the North to the South and vice versa. To avert the danger of travelling that route by road, many travelers resort to the railway service, which was before now considered the safest option.

We recall that when the incident occurred, Former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi noted that it could have been averted if the surveillance equipment he proposed to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had been installed and we wonder if that has been done.

The level of insecurity in the country has risen to alarming levels in recent years. From attacks, kidnappings of school students, banditry along major highways, killings by insurgents to Fulani Herdsmen/indigenous community clashes, living in most regions of the country has become a nightmare. Travelling along many routes in Nigeria has also become unsafe, and the Abuja-Kaduna highway is considered the most dangerous route in the country.

Considering the publicly televised ordeal kidnapped passengers went through before they were released, the government will need to do more to restore confidence in travelers.