The Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) has suspended train services on the Lagos, Abuja, and Ajaokuta routes over raging insecurity in the country.
The Managing Director of the NRC Fidet Okhiria said on Wednesday that the development followed a report of an attempted kidnapping of passengers that left the Ajaokuta Station by road on their way to Abuja.
He said that the passengers and their vehicles were shot at in the process but escaped from the attackers.
Okhiria said that the passengers had been told to make use of any of the adjacent stations in Itakpe (north) or Itogbo (south) pending when security situation in the area improves.
He said that the Warri-Itakppe train service is still on as the train left Warri this morning on its way to Itakpe.
Meanwhile, in another statement, NRC said that in compliance with the Honourable Minister’s directive, that “the Abuja to Kaduna passenger train service remains suspended until all the passengers held hostage as a result of the train attack by the bandits are completely released to their relations and the additional security system is put in place to avoid reoccurrence.”
“In addition, the Lagos to Kano Express passenger train will not resume operation following suspected bandits’ presence along the Minna to Kaduna rail corridor in the North Western district of the Corporation,” the statement added.
With five more kidnapped passengers of the ill-fated Kaduna-Abuja train released on Tuesday, the number of freed passengers is now 37 while 35 passengers are still in captivity of the terrorists.