Fidet Okhiria-led NRC trains as bandits' targets

• Published date: 14 January 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

Last Saturday's attack on the Igueben train station in Edo State by gun-wielding kidnappers could not have come at a worse time for many Nigerians who are already fear stricken about their safety whether at home, work place, on the highway, on the streets, name it.

Kidnappers keep popping up anywhere and at any time, looking for their next victims.

Until the 28 March 2022 attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train by gunmen, a lot of commuters had seen rail transportation as safe and convenient.

But that does not seem to be correct any longer with the abduction of passengers waiting at the Igueben station to board the train to Warri. According to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), a handful of persons got whisked away, while many got injured trying to scamper for safety.

This Edo train attack happened just 10 months after the unfortunate attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train in Kaduna State, and also happening less than two months before the general elections in the country. In 2022, dozens of passengers were abducted by armed persons and several persons were killed in the attack.

Many of the kidnapped victims were later released after paying ransom to the kidnappers while others were released after negotiations between the government and the abductors.

While many adopted train service as the best, safest and more affordable means of transportation, they are gradually losing the trust in the safety of rail services. The clandestine mission of the Edo train attack caught many by surprise.

The Edo train attack throws up many questions about the essence of government, and more specifically, about the prioritisation of Nigerians safety, especially commuting through the rail services.

To sum it up, all these train attacks are indeed pointing to a disastrous fact that it is bad enough that the criminal gang or gunmen are showing superior intelligence than our security agencies to earn the commanding position.

It is even more unfortunate that terrorists are becoming more daring and brazen by the day. The fear generated by the dastardly act at Edo train station still remains a dilemma.

The ordeal of kidnapping leave victims agitated and traumatised at the end of...