Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation Mu’azu Sambo announced that the train services between the capital city Abuja and the northern city Kaduna, abruptly suspended in March after a major terrorist attack, will be resumed in November.
On March 28, a passenger train en route to Kaduna from Abuja was attacked by a group of gunmen in Rijana, a town near Kaduna.
According to Nigerian officials, a total of 362 passengers and 20 crew members were on board the train at the time of the attack.
At least eight train passengers lost their lives in the attack. 26 people were injured and over 60 passengers were abducted by the gunmen.
On March 29, one day after the incident of the attack, the Nigerian Railway Corporation, the state-owned enterprise with exclusive rights to operate railways in Nigeria, indefinitely suspended its train operations between Abuja and Kaduna.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, Minister Sambo announced that the railway operation will resume after security measures were installed.
According to the minister, the security measures will include short and long-term plans, with the short-term plans taking effect from November.
“We are looking at how the rail lines can be safe by putting in 24-hour surveillance and immediate response apparatus,” Sambo said.
(eTN): Nigeria restarts train service suspended after terror attack | re-post license | post content
