THE Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), on Sunday, suspended operations along the Warri–Itakpe rail corridor after a passenger train derailed on Saturday evening barely five days after the resumption of services.
News Point Nigeria reports that the incident occurred around 7:30 pm at Kilometre 212+8m, Agbor, Delta State, involving two out of the seven coaches on the route.
NRC Managing Director, Kayode Opeifa, confirmed that all passengers were safely evacuated with no reported casualties or injuries.
“We are pleased to confirm that all passengers on board were safely evacuated to Agbor, and everyone has been fully accounted for,” Opeifa said.
Preliminary findings, according to the corporation, suggest that the derailment may have resulted from suspected track vandalism, a recurring issue affecting national railway infrastructure.
Opeifa disclosed that a recovery team, backed by security forces, was immediately deployed to the site. He added that train services have been suspended pending a comprehensive security and safety assessment of the affected section.
“As a precautionary measure, train services on the corridor have been temporarily suspended today to enable a comprehensive security and safety audit,” he added.
The Warri–Itakpe line, Nigeria’s longest modern rail route at over 300 kilometres had only resumed service on 29 October 2025, after a two-month shutdown caused by recurring technical faults.
According to National Bureau of Statistics records, over 188 rail-related incidents have occurred nationwide between 2020 and 2025, with many attributed to vandalism and criminal activities targeting railway infrastructure.
In August, the NRC suspended the Abuja–Kaduna service after a derailment involving 618 passengers, where seven people sustained injuries.
And in January 2019, a derailment along the Agege–Ebute Metta axis in Lagos resulted in the death of one passenger and left several others injured highlighting long-standing operational risks.
The NRC apologised to the public for the latest disruption and assured passengers that ticketing companies have been instructed to initiate refunds for affected travellers.
The corporation added that train operations will only resume after the track is declared secure and fully safe for transport.
