Investigating the Abuja-Kaduna Train Derailment: NSIB Takes Action

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has initiated an investigation into the recent derailment of a train coach on the Abuja-Kaduna corridor at Jeremy Station, occurring on Sunday morning.

According to Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, NSIB’s Director of Consumer Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, a team has been dispatched to the site for a comprehensive investigation.

“NSIB is aware of the derailment of an Abuja-bound train from Kaduna which occurred halfway into the journey at Jere. A team has been deployed to the site of the incident,” stated the announcement.

Despite the incident, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) assured that all passengers traveling from Kaduna-Rigasa to Idu Abuja safely reached their destinations.

In the early hours of Sunday, several train coaches derailed on the Kaduna-Abuja corridor at Jeremy Station. Fortunately, all passengers disembarked safely at their destinations.

Yakub Mahmood, Deputy Director of Public Relations for the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), confirmed that regular train services between Kaduna-Rigasa and Idu-Abuja are operating as usual.

A team of NRC engineers was swiftly dispatched to the site to restore affected areas and prevent future derailments, ensuring passenger safety and comfort.

Derailments have been the predominant type of train accident in Nigeria in recent years, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2023 Social Statistics Report.

The report highlighted 183 derailment incidents between 2020 and 2022, with 57 in 2020, 61 in 2021, and 65 in 2022. Loss of control and locomotive failure followed as the second most common causes of train accidents, with 155 incidents recorded.

The data underscores the critical necessity for enhanced safety measures and infrastructure maintenance in Nigeria’s railway system to avert such accidents.