The Nigerian Railway Corporation(NRC) has called for deployment of more policemen and officials of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps(NSCDC) to the Railwày Command of the two security outfits so as to beef up security and ensure protection of passengers, infrastructure and tracks.
This is coming as passengers have now become apprehensive of using the rail mode following the March 28, 2022 bomb attack on an Abuja-Kaduna bound passenger train which led to killings/kidnappings and January 7, 2023 sporadic shooting at Tom Ikimi train station in Edo state that saw about 20 passenger kidnapped.
Speaking on the need to deploy more security personnel, Lagos district manager of the corporation, Engr. Augustine Arase stated further that the corporation has separate commands of the Nigeria Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps but that the personnel were not enough.
He also enjoined the corps and the police in the railway command to work as a team, adding that, the corporation is prepared to give them logistic support so as to perform their functions effectively.
As part of efforts to complement the job of securing the train stations by security agencies, Arase said, all scanners at the Mobolaji Johnson train station are functional for detection of dangerous weapons that may be hidden in luggages by bad elements with ulterior motives pretending to be passengers.
He disclosed that the corporation has also employed service of local vigilantes along the railway corridors to help secure the tracks and report any suspicious move by vandal.
