Beyond apology, I take full responsibility for Abuja-Kaduna train derailment – NRC MD

Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Kayode Opeifa, has said he takes full responsibility for Tuesday’s Abuja-Kaduna train derailment, which occurred along the Kaduna corridor shortly after departure from Abuja.

Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Opeifa apologised to Nigerians and pledged that the ongoing investigation into the accident would be transparent.

“Beyond apologising to Nigerians, I want to state clearly—as the Managing Director and Chief Executive—I take full responsibility.

“When it comes to safety, there is no room for indifference. Once something like this happens, the chief executive must own it—and I do,” he said.

Opeifa disclosed that while there were no fatalities, four passengers sustained serious injuries, while two others were treated and discharged.

“Coming to the fatality and the casualties, there was no fatality. We thank God. That was a near miss because for this kind of accident or incident, you see some level of fatality, but we thank God for this.

“And for those who were injured, four are serious, and another two or so were discharged immediately, and we will follow up on those that might still be in the hospital,” he added, noting that all 618 passengers would also be monitored for post-traumatic effects.

The NRC boss stressed that the derailment “should not be happening” and vowed measures to prevent a recurrence, citing his earlier decision to shut down the Warri-Itakpe route for safety repairs.

On possible sabotage, Opeifa said it was “premature” to draw conclusions, adding that the military actively monitors the Abuja-Kaduna corridor.

“This particular track is being monitored by the military. You can see that immediately it (the derailment) happened, within five, 10 minutes, the helicopter was there hovering.

“The Nigerian Air Force and the Nigerian army are all along this corridor, and I think, for the record, we’ve not had any issue of banditry, terrorism attack along that corridor,” he said.

According to him, reconstruction of the affected section will only begin once the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) declares the site open, after which NRC will conduct a safety audit.

The Tuesday incident occurred around 11 a.m., shortly after the train departed Abuja for Kaduna. It follows a similar derailment in January 2023 near Kubwa in the Federal Capital Territory.

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