The Nigerian Railway Corporation has postponed indefinitely the resumption of its suspended Abuja-Kaduna train service, following public outcry against the initial decision to return to operation next Monday May 23.
The service was suspended after terrorists on March 28 attacked a passenger train on that route, near Kaduna, killing eight people and abducting over 60 passengers, most of who are still in captivity.
The NRC had earlier in the week said the Federal Government had approved that train service should resume next Monday while efforts are being intensified to secure the release of those still held captive.

But relatives of the abducted by train passengers kicked against this, vowing to obstruct any train operation on the route without the release of their loved ones. Some option leaders also called on the government to rescind its decision to resume the train service.

A statement by the NRC Deputy Director Public Relations, Mahmoud Yakubu, on Friday evening announced a shift in the resumption date of the Abuja-Kaduna train and apologised for this.

It also said, “A new date will be announced soonest. The NRC will continue to cooperate and collaborate with the Federal Government in its uncompromising mandate of protecting the territorial integrity and the internal security of Nigeria for safeguarding the lives and properties of its citizens especially as it concerns the rail subsector.”

The corporation identified with relatives of those in captivity after the last train attack, adding that actions were being taken to secure their safe release.

It stated, “The Federal Government is alive to its

responsibility for the safe rescue of all persons being held hostage. We therefore appeal, particularly to the relatives of persons held hostage to be patient and cooperate with the corporation and the security agencies.”

The international wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, was temporarily shut in the early hours of Thursday after the mangled body of a dead man was found on Runway 18R of the nation’s flagship airport.

The identity of the corpse could not be ascertained as of press time. Also, it could not be established whether the dead man was knocked down by an aircraft taking off or landing on the runway.

However, airport officials told our correspondent that the runway was temporarily shut down while a team of officials from the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria Police Force evacuated the corpse from the runway.

During the temporary shutdown of the runway, international flights were prevented from landing and taking off from the airport’s international terminal.

Among the flights that could not land due to the shutdown was an Ethiopian Airlines flight 3907, a Boeing 77F aircraft with registration number ETAVN, which was coming from Lome, Togo to Lagos, Nigeria.

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The flight was later diverted back to Lome after holding for a while.

Airport officials said the corpse was suddenly found on Runway 18R during a routine runway inspection by FAAN personnel.

The spokesperson for FAAN, Mrs. Faithful Avokerie Hope-Ivbaz, could not immediately confirm the incident, saying she had yet to be briefed on the development.

Also, the Police Public Relations Officer, Airport Command, Mr Olayinka Ojelade, said he had yet to get the requited signal on the incident.

He promised to get back. As of the time of filing this report, he had yet to do so. However, a top police official at the MMIA confirmed the development.

He said the command was called upon in the early hours of Thursday to evacuate the corpse from Runway 18R.

According to him, the police are still investigating the identity of the dead man and how he got to the security area of the international airport.

However, an aviation security expert and former Military Commandant of the MMIA, Group Captain John Ojikutu,retd, said there was a need to investigate how the unidentified man found his way into the sensitive area of the airport, describing the incident as a major security breach.

According to him, the perimeter fence of the MMIA is not a security fence, adding that this has exposed the airport to various security breaches.

Ojikutu said, “The authorities need to investigate how the man got to the airport. Nobody can say much now; but he may have been knocked down by the wingspan or undercarriage of a jumbo jet but it is too early to say anything like that now.  But we need to examine the issue of houses that have been built too close to the Lagos airport. The rule says no building should be situated less than six metres to the airport structure or fence. However, we have seen cases of people crossing the runway before.

“The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and FAAN need to investigate this to ascertain what really happened. They need to find out the flights that landed before that incident. The current airport perimeter fence is not a security fence and we need to do something about it.”

Meanwhile, there have been a couple of airport security breaches in recent times.

A mishap was averted at the airside of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos some months ago when a speeding vehicle had a near collision with a Dana Air plane taxiing to take off on Runway 18L of the airport.

The unfortunate incident, which happened on December 21, 2021, occurred barely one week after a landing Max Air jet almost rammed into a malfunctioning car being tested on  Runway 18L.

Also, there was pandemonium at the airside of the Lagos airport on December 27, 2019 when an unidentified man found his way into the airside mysteriously and mounted a moving Air Peace plane.

The man was later arrested by security operatives who were notified by the pilot of a private jet coming behind the Air Peace plane.

The incident happened barely six months after a man found his way into the Lagos airport and climbed a Port Harcourt-bound Azman Airlines plane.

The man, believed to be mentally ill, was later identified as Usman Adamu from the Republic of Niger.

The Police said the Nigerien could not speak or understand English Language.

The authorities said then that investigation was still ongoing to ascertain how Adamu gained access to the restricted area at the airport.

PUNCH

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will reintroduce the suspended electronic valuation of vehicles on Friday.

The NCS said this in a letter dated May 17, 2022, and signed by Ajibola Odusany, NCS’ deputy controller, administration, on behalf of Yusuf Malanta, area controller in charge of the Apapa Command of the service.

Also known as vehicle inspection number (VIN), the policy has generated controversy since its introduction this year.

Clearing agents associations had protested against the e-valuation policy and grounded activities at the ports.

The freight forwarders said the e-valuation system sharply increased duty paid on imported vehicles.

This had forced the NCS to suspend the implementation of the VIN policy, following the intervention of the House of Representatives.

In bringing back the policy, the NCS said there would be a sensitisation programme for stakeholders in the clearance chain in preparation for the redeployment.

“In line with the planned nationwide deployment of the VIN Valuation on Friday, 20 May 2022, and the need to continually enhance the platform for optimal performance and service delivery, the sensitisation which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, May 19, 2022, at 11:00 am is to hold at the Apapa Command conference hall. The Deputy Controller Administration, A Y. Odusanya, on behalf of the Customs Area Controller requested that clearing agents should send their representatives to attend, saying the session would benefit everyone and further clarify any question,” the letter stated.

Acting President of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Kayode Farinto, confirmed the development,

saying the association would speak after the training.

“We’re going for the training. So, we can’t say anything until we’re through with the training,” he said.