The Nigerian Railway Corporation (“NRC”) deeply commiserates with all the passengers on board the NRC AK9 train of 28th March 2022, their relatives and friends, the Government and people of Kaduna State and the Federal Capital Territory as well as the entire Nation. In particular, we regret the death of 8 of our passengers and security personnel attached to the train service as well as the injury suffered by scores of our passengers, not mentioning the trauma caused them and crew by the armed attack.
We also earnestly pray for the speedy recovery of the injured passengers while praying God grants the families of the bereaved fortitude to bear the loss.
Our attention has however been drawn to the misleading and insensitive information circulating on social media with respect to the number of passengers on the train. For the avoidance of any doubt, please note:
1. The Abuja – Kaduna service is run on a fully automated e-ticket system with entry and exit turnstiles that validate every passenger on board our trains. Ticket checkers also validate the tickets of every passenger via electronic validators linked to the central system to verify the integrity of our manifest.
2. 398 (Three Hundred and Ninety-Eight) passengers purchased tickets to travel on the NRC AK9 service, and
3. 362 (three hundred and sixty-two) passengers actually boarded the AK9 service.
4. The entire seat capacity of the train in question is 840 (eight hundred and forty passengers; therefore, the figure of 970 (Nine hundred and seventy) being circulated can not be correct.
5. The AK9 service is the last service out of Abuja on a Monday evening and is usually at less than half capacity.
6. Passengers on board the AK9 service on Monday have confirmed that the train was certainly not run at full capacity
The NRC is continuing its efforts to reach out to passengers using the comprehensive manifest in order to obtain valid information about their present condition
Finally, while we continue to sympathise with the nation , we kindly implore members of the press, social media sites, and the general public to desist from spreading false information at this delicate time.
Engr. Fidet Okhiria fnse, FCILT
MD/CEO
