By Ismail Auwal
The Federal Government has revealed plans to employ the services of vigilantes to secure train services.
The plan is an additional security measure for the railroads after the attack on Abuja-Kaduna train on March 28 that caused the suspension of the train services for months.
At a National Transportation, Environment and Public Safety Summit hosted by the Nigerian Youth Congress (NYC) in Abuja, Odukale Oluwafemi, the Minister of State for Transportation’s Special Advisor (SA) on Land Transport and Union Matter, said President Muhammadu Buhari was having trouble sleeping due to the attack on the Abuja-Kaduna train.
The special adviser said the ministry was working with security agencies to ensure safety of passengers and their luggage when the train resumes operations.
He said the ministry is presently working with other security agencies to ensure safety when the train operations resume.
According to him, apart from working with the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and the police to ensure safety, the ministry would also engage local vigilantes among the communities the train passes through.
He said, “President Buhari is doing so much as to the insecurity situation in the country. We must give that to him. I can tell you that he is having sleepless nights just because of the incident that happened.
“Of course, the rail system, which is under the Ministry of Transportation, is doing all it can. As we enter into the ‘ember’ months, we have people who want to make use of this means of transportation. So, we are very sure that before you know it, the rail transport will return to life.
“The ministry is working with other security agencies. We have the road safety, the police, and even the local vigilantes. The ministry is not doing this in isolation. So, for security, the ministry is working closely to ensure that such incident never happens again.”
