The managing director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Freeborn Okhiria, has informed the House of Representatives Committee on Land Transport that the corporation is fighting a big battle with vandals who are out to sabotage its efforts.
Speaking when the committee began an investigation into the rampant vandalisation of Nigeria’s railway tracks and other assets of the corporation in many parts of the country, Okhiria said the issue of vandalisation has been a major problem for the corporation.
He said: “It’s a serious problem for us. It’s a big battle we are fighting with the real vandalisation. There are areas our staff cannot get to, especially on the Kabba-Kaduna axis.”
He disclosed that the Minister of Transport has inaugurated a committee that is presently going around the country to ascertain the volume and value of the assets of the corporation across the country.
He said: “In order for the railway to protect what is under its care, we made an advertisement that, no scrap is on sale except for one company, CAM, and any vehicle seen on the road, should be stopped and arrested.
“And recently, we started moving from Kano to Lagos, and because of the fear, we stopped at Ilorin overnight. We set up staff to monitor the track from Offa to Ilorin, the track was vandalized. Luckily, the people were arrested.”
Speaking on the arrest of its officials in Maiduguri, he explained that what happened in Maiduguri was a result of a communication gap leading to the allegations and detention of their officials by security agencies, which he said was later resolved.
He said the Joint Task Force was duly informed about the plan to move the coaches since September through a letter addressed to the Theater Commander.
According to him, it was routine work as coaches are constantly moved to locations where they are needed, saying, the coaches in Maiduguri were being taken to the NRC’s workshop in Jos when they were intercepted.
He said, “After this incident, we have moved coaches, and we are still going to move coaches. It’s a federal establishment. We don’t seek permission from the states to move something.
“Ordinarily, we involve our police, who protect our tracks and provide security for the movement. They were duly informed, and we also duly informed the Area Commander in that area.
“But, when they stopped it, we had to react. After this, we moved other rolling stocks to other places. It’s an internal arrangement to move coaches.
“Even now, we are moving coaches from Lagos to Port Harcourt. So, it’s within Nigeria Railway’s ambit to move things to places. That’s what we call balancing stocks.
“So, the three trucks that were arrested were in cooperation with the NSCDC and our police command that are working with their headquarters. What happened the day before yesterday at Ilorin, the CP was giving instructions to the Area Commander in Ibadan to go to Ilorin.
“So, as to the quantity of the scraps, I will say here that, the Ministry, under the Minister, has set up a committee made up of seven men, with a director in the ministry heading the team to sort out what is scrap and what is usable, and that committee has been inaugurated and they are working.
“And today, I cannot state how many sleepers or rails are scarps because, until that committee finishes their job, nobody can categorically say about the volume of scraps.”
The chairman of the committee, Blessing Onuh (APC, Benue) said the investigation was prompted by the incident regarding the movement of coaches from Maiduguri to Jos which sparked speculations about the alleged stealing of the NRC’s assets across the country.
She said Nigerians are worried about the state of the assets of the NRC, especially as regards the safety of the tracks amidst incidences of vandalisation of the tracks, which were intercepted in many parts of the country.
