Fidet Okhiria, the managing director/CEO of the Nigerian Railways Corporation, NRC, has denied reports in some sections of the media that gunmen attacked its Abuja bound train from Kaduna Thursday, January 2, 2020.
Okhiria, who spoke to Daily Trust on the phone, said no attack happened on its train and that none of its operations were delayed or disrupted contrary to media reports.
He challenged anyone “peddling the rumour” to visit the station to confirm the operations have been smooth.
Also, the operations manager, Abuja-Kaduna rail service, Victor Adamu, told Daily Trust on the phone he didn’t receive report of any gun attack on the train and that the train operations had been operating as scheduled.
He said the news making the rounds is false and might be a recycling of the stone incidence that happened over a year ago.
He however, explained that some boys threw stones on the train but it didn’t have significant impact to warrant disruption of operations.
On his part, the deputy director, public relations of the NRC, Mahmood Yakub in a chat with Daily Trust said the reported attack was the machination of mischief makers.
He said, “This is a complete fake news. Nobody attacked the train of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, between Abuja and Kaduna.
“This is a calculated attempt by mischief makers to scare away our esteemed passengers. We see this as a grand plot to sabotage the feats and achievements of the NRC.”
Yakub stressed that there was no sign of attack on the train, adding that no passenger had given any report of attack whether from Abuja or Rigasa.
He assured the train passengers not to entertain any fear about their safety and security, assuring that the NRC is up to the task in providing safe train services across the country.
Former Federal Lawmaker Confirms Attack On Train Heading To Abuja From Kaduna
Armed men suspected to be kidnappers Thursday morning [January 2, 2020] attacked an Abuja bound train with guns and other projectiles.
The train which left the Rigassa train station at around 10 am was attacked a few kilometres to Katari, about seventy kilometres to Abuja, Vanguard reports.
A passenger on the train told the newspaper that the train came under what he called “ballistic projectiles attack” but no passenger was hurt in the incidence.
A former member of the House of Representatives, Abbas Abdulahi Machika has insisted that suspected hoodlums on Thursday morning attacked an Abuja bound train with projectiles, shattering one of the windows on the train.
He said the train which left the Rigassa train station at around 10: 45am was attacked few kilometres to Rijanna, about forty kilometres from Kaduna.
Rijanna is notorious on the Abuja Kaduna highway as a haven for criminals, especially kidnappers who routinely kidnapped commuters on the Highway.
He told Vanguard that because of the “loud bang” that accompanied the attack, it must have come from a “ballastic projectile”.
No passenger was hurt in the incidence as the windows of the coaches, though not bullet proof, are believed to be tampered.
Hon Machika who spoke with Vanguard on the incidence said the attack happened to “Windows 83 and 84, on coach SP 2 of the train that left Kaduna at 10:45am to Abuja at Rijanna.
“The impact and the noise made us to conclude that it was something of high velocity. There was no casualty but this underscores the insecurity situation in the country,” the passenger, a former member of the house of Representatives from Katsina state told the newspaper.
The police Public Relations Officer for the Kaduna State police command, Yakubu Sabo said he had not receive any report on attack on any train as at the time of filling this report.
He however said “the right people to speak on the matter are the Nigerian railway corporation”.
A man who contacted this correspondent at about 3:20pm and claimed to be a policeman on duty at the train station in Idu claimed that what happened to the train was a stone being “hurled at the window by hoodlums”.
The unidentified caller whose phone number was with held claimed that ”they suspected that someone stoned the train with a rock around Rijana, Kaduna state, which resulted in the breaking of the glass”.
