Railway
NRC official, Chinese, policemen arrested over stolen rail sleepers
A senior railway worker, a Chinese national, his lawyer and three security personnel have been arrested for their alleged involvement in cutting and stealing rail track materials in Nasarawa State.
Special Adviser to the Nasarawa State Governor on Infrastructure, Yusuf Musa; a former Supervisory Councillor on the Education of Nasarawa Eggon Local Government Area, Mohammed Isiaka, and Samuel Shagbaor, a principal technical officer of the railway corporation covering the Agyaragu area of the state were also arrested.
The state Commissioner of Police, Bola Longe, disclosed this when he paraded the suspects alongside other suspected criminals at the police headquarters in Lafia, the state capital on Thursday.
According to him, the arrested security personnel are from the Nigeria Police and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps along with a member of the Nigerian Legion, Samuel Asoloko.
The arrested lawyer, Nathaniel Bob, was said to have been arrested for attempting to bribe the police with 600,000 to secure the release of his Chinese client.
The police boss said, “Nathaniel Oba, Male, 48 years – Principal Partner Nathoba & Co a law chamber in Benin and the legal adviser to Yong Xing Steel Company Nigeria Limited offered N600,000 cash to bribe the investigating team of the anti-kidnapping unit to secure the release of his client.”
He added that the politicians and two other persons Yusuf Ahmed and Abubakar Nuhu who are the owners of trailers used to transport the stolen railway slippers, also tried to bribe the police with N160,000 for the release of their vehicles.
Longe stated that the feat was achieved after the command developed an anti-vandalism template to checkmate activities of vandals across the state.
“Based on the information at the disposal of the Nasarawa State Police Command from multiple sources, which all indicated that criminal elements have turned the Nigerian railway tracks that traverse some major cities and villages in Nasarawa State en route to Benue State to goldmine where they vandalise and cart away rail tracks/slippers.
“Consequently, the state police command developed a strategic anti-vandalism template to arrest the tide of this unwholesome scenario.
“It is gratifying to note, however, that, this template paid off on 16/5/2021 at about 0130hrs and 24/5/2021 at about 0300hrs respectively when police operatives swooped on the vandals at their theatre of operation while vandalising and carting away railway tracks/slippers along Agyaragu Tofa in Lafia LGA and Angwan Alago of Kadarko district in Keana LGA.”
The police boss added that the Chinese national, Marra Thai, managing a steel company in Tungan Maje of Abuja in disguise was the criminal receiver through his procurement officer Jacob Terlumun.
“Preliminary investigation into these cases so far has revealed that it is a grand conspiracy involving high net worth individuals who act as sponsors and drivers of various syndicates which specialise in vandalising Nigerian railway track/slippers in different parts of Nasarawa State notably: Gudi-Lafia-Akeleku-Makurdi railway line.
“This is a classic case of sabotage being perpetrated by unpatriotic Nigerians including some personnel of security agencies who are employed by the state to protect lives and property.
“This criminal circus is sustained and kept alive by companies who process steel/iron scraps and mostly owned by foreign nationals who make wrongful gains at the expense of the national interest.”
Exhibits recovered are one Falker Mercedes Benz truck loaded with vandalised rail track/sleepers; one DAF trailer loaded with vandalised rail track/slippers, the sum of N160,000 offered as bribe to secure the release of the vehicle; two white Peugeot J5 buses – one of which was loaded with vandalised rail track materials.
Railway
Nigerian railway adds extra train to Friday, Saturday trips on Lagos-Ibadan route
Nigerian railway adds extra train to Friday, Saturday trips on Lagos-Ibadan route
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced the introduction of additional train trips on its Lagos-Ibadan Train Service (LITS) route, exclusively for Fridays and Saturdays.
This initiative increases weekend trips from two to three, offering commuters greater travel flexibility.
The announcement, made via the NRC’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, revealed that the new Lagos-to-Ibadan trip will depart at 1:40 pm, complementing the existing schedules of 7:45 am and 4:00 pm.
For the Ibadan-to-Lagos route, the additional trip is set for 10:50 am, joining the regular departures at 8:00 am and 4:30 pm.
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“Catch our extra Friday & Saturday train trips on LAGOS – IBADAN TRAIN SERVICE (LITS).
“LAGOS to IBADAN:
“•Times: 7:45am, 1:40pm, 4:00pm
“IBADAN to LAGOS:
“•Times: 8:00am, 10:50am, 4:30pm,” NRC’s tweet read in part.
This tweet by the Nigerian Railway Corporation further noted that the new schedule complements the existing Sunday-to-Thursday trips, which remain unchanged with departure times at 8:00 am and 4:00 pm from both Lagos and Ibadan.
This move by the NRC to expand the schedule is aimed at accommodating increased demand, particularly during weekends, and providing greater flexibility for commuters traveling between Lagos and Ibadan.
The move is expected to ease travel pressures and improve convenience for passengers on one of Nigeria’s busiest rail routes.
Travelers are encouraged to take advantage of the additional services and book tickets early via the e-ticketing website. to secure their spots, especially as the Lagos-Ibadan rail route continues to grow in popularity.
Nigerian railway adds extra train to Friday, Saturday trips on Lagos-Ibadan route
Railway
Nigeria gets $350m AfDB facility for Kano-Maradi rail project
Nigeria gets $350m AfDB facility for Kano-Maradi rail project
The Federal Government of Nigeria has secured $350 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to fund the construction of the Kano-Maradi rail project, which will connect Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Adamu Aliero, made this disclosure on Monday during an oversight visit to the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) headquarters in Lagos, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Aliero stated that the Kano-Maradi rail project is part of the government’s broader efforts to modernize Nigeria’s railway network and enhance regional trade links.
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“The Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Sen. Adamu Aliero, says the African Development Bank has released $350 million to the Federal Government for construction of a rail line from Kano to Maradi,” the NAN report read in part.
He also highlighted that President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to China focused on finalizing negotiations for 85% of the financing needed to upgrade and rehabilitate the nation’s rail infrastructure.
Aliero disclosed that the supplementary budget recently passed by the National Assembly allocated over N530 billion as counterpart funding for these modernization efforts. The remaining 85% of the funds will be sourced from institutions such as China Exim Bank, the International Finance Corporation, and AfDB.
Nigeria gets $350m AfDB facility for Kano-Maradi rail project
Railway
Lagos Blue Rail: LAMATA speaks on fire incident
Lagos Blue Rail: LAMATA speaks on fire incident
The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) has reacted to a fire incident affecting a section of the Blue Rail Line that occurred in the Apangbon area of the state on Saturday.
A statement issued by the Head of Corporate Communication at LAMATA, Kolawole Ojelabi, attributed the incident to a spark, leading to a disruption in the passengers operations of the line.
The statement read, “The Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) is aware of a spark, inducing fire, at a section of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) near the old NEPA station by Eko Bridge around Apongbon area of Lagos Island.
“As a result, passenger operations of the Blue Line were disrupted.
“Following the spark, the system isolated the section for investigators and engineers from the Independent Power Plant powering the train to trace the source of the fire.
“The Closed-Circuit camera along the section promptly alerted emergency staff who triggered the emergency response process.
“No passengers on the train and workers were in danger following the fire incident.
“Engineers are working profusely to replace the burnt cables, and it is projected that train operation will resume Sunday morning.
“LAMATA is committed to ensuring the safe operation of the Blue Line, the first rail system to be powered by electricity in West Africa.”
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