IN the next few days, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) will release the result of what led to the derailment of the Abuja-Kaduna train on August 26, during which not less than 14 passengers sustained varying degree of injuries. NSIB’s investigation, we have been told, will focus on identifying the direct and underlying factors that led to the derailment, with the aim of issuing safety recommendations to prevent a recurrence. The derailment caused significant damage to tracks, sleepers, and switching mechanisms, forcing a temporary suspension of services along the Abuja-Kaduna corridor.
When the train derailed, a total of 618 persons were onboard. This comprised of 583 passengers, 15 NRC crew members, one medical personnel, eight cleaners, and 11 catering staff. All individuals were safely evacuated. In Nigeria, the latest train derailment is not the first and it is unlikely to be the last.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria has recorded 188 train derailments between 2020 and 2025 alone. Between 2020 and 2022, 183 derailments occurred, 57 in 2020, 61 in 2021, and 65 in 2022, making derailment the most common railway accident in recent years. What could be responsible for the frequent train accidents in the country? One fact is the vandalization of the rail tracks.
This has been identified as one of the major causes of train accidents in Nigeria. There are vandals who are into the stealing of railway sleepers and other components on the rail lines. To them, those components are their own sources of income. They are professionals who have a ready market for those items.
Again, there are several Baban bola (scavengers) and ‘iron condemn’ men (metal scrap collectors) who roam the rail tracks, looking for rail line bolts and nuts to steal and immediately sell for quick cash. The fact that those components are there for a purpose is not their business.
If vandalism is eventually identified as the main cause of the latest train derailment, the Nigerian Railway Corporation Workers won’t be surprised. The Workers, under the aegis of the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers (NURW) believe that vandalism has been the major cause of the incidences of train derailment in the country in the last couple of years. The President-General of the NURW, Comrade Innocent Ajiji, had this to say: “What happened is beyond the NRC. Our tracks are well maintained on a daily and weekly basis.
“We have engineers who service our trains also on a weekly basis to ensure that the trains are in good condition. But when you have people who go and tamper with the rail tracks all in the name of track vandalism, if the train derails, do you blame the NRC? The same issue is confronting the Warri-Itakpe train. The tracks have been vandalised and that’s why the train has been suspended for almost three weeks now.
“On the Abuja-Kaduna train, Asham is a flashpoint for all sorts of illegal activities like vandalism. That was why the NRC had to close down the station at Asham after the accident that happened there last year. The blame should not be on the NRC because the railway assets are well maintained by the management. The only solution to avert incidents like what happened on the Abuja-Kaduna train is proper security of railway assets. Railway assets are not well secured, and that’s why they are always exposed to vandalism.”
Indeed, the security of railway assets across the country is the sole responsibility of the Nigeria Police, and in carrying out this obligation, a special unit was created for the Railway Corporation called the Railway unit. But the question is if they have the required number of personnel to man the over 4,000 kilometres tracks across the country.
Other likely factors are poor maintenance, weak security controls, and ageing infrastructure.
In September 2023, a Kaduna-bound passenger train derailed at Kukere Station. Although no lives were lost, some coaches were affected. In October 2023, a minor derailment occurred near Asham Railway Station (close to Jere). Passengers were stranded for hours before the line was cleared. In March 2022, terrorists attacked the Abuja–Kaduna train, leaving nine people dead and dozens abducted. The attack caused a suspension of train services for several months.
In August 5, 2023, Troops of the 4 special forces of the Nigerian Army arrested three suspected rail track vandals at Kwarra community of Keana Local Government Area in Nasarawa. Those arrested were caught with a large quantity of rail tracks loaded in one 18-tyre truck with registration number DED 364 YC. Preliminary investigations showed that one Chibuki Akubilo, the driver, was contacted to convey the vandalised rail tracks to Ilorin, Kwara state, for N1.6 million. These are big time vandals who are ready to shell out millions of naira for their nefarious trade.
Again, on June 30, troop arrested 12 suspected rail track vandals in Angwan Yara, Keana LGA of Nasarawa. The suspects were arrested with a large amount of rail tracks loaded in two trucks. After they were caught, they offered the troops a N5 million bribe. In Borno State, five suspected vandals were arrested by the police in March 29, 2025, for the vandalization and theft of rail sleepers and tracks along the Buni/Yadi-Maiduguri railway line in the Kaga Local Council of the state.
The vandalized railway items comprised 62 rail sleepers and 48 rail tracks worth millions of Naira. Few days later, another set of five suspected vandals were arrested for the vandalism and theft of 110 rail sleepers and tracks. Those arrested were Abba Modu Shuwa, 25; Mustapha Bura, 25; Ali Malami, 17; and Mustapha Abba, 27.
Similarly, in Ilorin, Kwara State, the Railway Police apprehended suspects involved in the theft of 56 pieces of fish plates, bolts, and nuts between kilometres 413 and 414 near Idi-Ose Village. The arrest of Wasiu Musa of Ajia Village on June 12 this year led to further investigations and the recovery of additional materials. On June 20, Usman Bashir was also arrested with a large cache of stolen railway items.
In Gombe, the Railway Police intercepted a blue vehicle loaded with suspected stolen steel sleepers. Two suspects were arrested and are assisting with ongoing investigations. When must of these bolts and nuts are removed, trains are made vulnerable to derailment at any time. What is sad and annoying is that these vandals are not mere petty criminals; they are enemies of the state. Their actions not only destroy national infrastructure but also puts countless lives at risk. Some of those arrested have been charged to court but were released after serving few months in jail.
It is sad that the nation’s rail tracks are now vulnerable to vandals who can wake up at any time to damage railway tracks for their selfish gain. The Nigerian Police which have a whole unit devoted to the protection of railway assets across the country are mostly caught unawares by the vandals. They also do not have enough manpower to effectively monitor the rail tracks across the country. Although their efforts were recently complemented with the establishment of a separate unit for the railway by the NSCDC, the vandals are still having a field day.
Perhaps, it is time to consider employing locals to monitor and guard railway tracks across the country as it was done when the federal government gave out surveillance contract for the protection of the nation’s crude oil pipeline to Tantita Security Services led by Tompolo, a former militant leader in the Niger Delta. Since he came on board, attacks on oil pipelines have reduced significantly and the nation is now inching towards meeting its crude oil OPEC quota.
Again, we could consider the deployment of drones to monitor the railway tracks. With the use of science and technology, the frequent derailment of trains due to the activities of vandals would become a thing of the past.
However, few days after the August 26th derailment, NRC’s Managing Director, Dr Kayode Opeifa, announced a sweeping reorganisation that includes the appointment, redeployment, and retention of District Managers and senior officers across the corporation’s operational corridors in a bid to ensure efficiency and effective service delivery by NRC personnel.
The shake-up, which took effect from September 1, 2025, is part of ongoing reforms aimed at improving operational efficiency, service delivery, and accountability within the corporation. Three new offices have also been created as part of the restructuring. These are Business Process, Efficiency and Due Diligence Desk; Customer Service Desk; and the Corporation’s Statistician Office.
This development is intended to strengthen business processes and customer engagement. However, until we discourage vandals from tampering with the nation’s railway infrastructures through the court imposing stiffer penalties on them, we would still be having issues with rail track vandalism. Government’s assets should be seen as ours and should be protected by all. Again, the National Orientation Agency (NOA), should embark on campaigns that would educate Nigerians on the danger of tampering with rail tracks and other national infrastructure.
The Muhamadu Buhari regime spent billions of Dollars on the modernisation of the nation’s railway infrastructure, and loans were taken from China. We are still paying back those loans and this is not the time for vandals to scare Nigerians away from rail transport as a mode of transportation.
An efficient railway system would take a lot of pressure off the nation’s road network as goods, including fuel, can be moved from one part of the country to another. Now is the time for the federal government to find a permanent solution to the activities of rail track vandals.
See you next week.
- Akintunde is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Glittersonline newspaper. His syndicated column, Monday Discourse, appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Mondays.