The Nigerian Railway Corporation has raised concerns over the vandalisation of critical signalling equipment along the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge corridor, specifically between Agege and Agbado stations.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Chief Public Relations Officer of the NRC, Callistus Unyimadu, on Wednesday.
A few weeks ago, the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau, through its report on the recent accident on the Abuja-Kaduna corridor, raised alarm over the deteriorated state of the NRC infrastructure in that area.
Over the years, the corporation has complained of various stages of vandalism, ranging from rail tracks to signal equipment, among others by scavengers.
In its statement, the corporation revealed that unidentified individuals tampered with essential signalling infrastructure.
The damage includes the removal of signal machine cap protectors and the severing of connection cables on Switch Point Machine No. 2. The incident was uncovered during a routine inspection.
Unyimadu described the act as a deliberate sabotage of national infrastructure, highlighting its potential to compromise passenger and staff safety.
Despite the damage, the Corporation confirmed that train operations on the Lagos-Ibadan route remain unaffected.
Security agencies have been alerted to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice.
The statement partly reads, “The Corporation strongly condemns these acts of sabotage against national infrastructure, stressing that such actions not only disrupt smooth train operations but also pose serious safety risks to both passengers and railway staff. However, NRC assures the general public that train movement on the Lagos-lbadan corridor was not obstructed and operations have continued without interruption.
“Security agencies have been notified to investigate and apprehend those responsible.”
Reaffirming its dedication to safe and reliable rail services, the NRC urged residents and communities along railway lines to stay alert and report any suspicious activity near railway facilities.
