Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line; The Safest Travelling Option Now Under Siege

Friday, October 22, 2021 / 11:49 AM / CSLResearch / Header Image Credit: Daily Nigerian

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) announced thesuspension of its services on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line following a deadlyattack on one of its trains by bandits. In a statement, the NRC described theincident as "an explosion" which affected the rail track and the fuel tank ofthe locomotive of the last train on Wednesday evening. Fortunately, no liveswere lost. The level of insecurity in the country has risen to alarming levelsin recent years. From attacks, kidnappings of school students, banditry alongmajor highways, killings by insurgents to Fulani Herdsmen/indigenous communityclashes, living in most regions of the country has become a nightmare.Travelling along many routes in Nigeria has also become unsafe, and theAbuja-Kaduna highway is considered the most dangerous route in the country.

Abuja-Kaduna expressway is notorious for kidnappingand banditry. The 211-kilometre expressway, which is the link between the FCTand the North-western part of the country, makes a good spot for kidnappersbecause many travellers use the route. The Abuja-Kaduna route forms a criticalpart of the country's larger highway system, enabling the movement of peopleand products from the North to the South and vice versa. To avert the danger oftravelling that route by road, many travellers resort to the railway service,which was before now considered the safest option. While Kaduna state appearsto be the major insecurity hotspot currently, based on recent happenings in thestate, there are also growing incidences of kidnappings and attacks across thecountry.

We are extremely concerned that these attacks, if nottimely addressed, could have disastrous consequences for the country. On onehand, food prices continue to rise and the insecurity in food processingregions, if not swiftly addressed, will remain a major drag on achieving foodsecurity. There are reports that many farmers in affected regions no longer goto their farms for fear of being killed or kidnapped. The alarming level ofinsecurity in the country will also continue to hinder foreign directinvestments. At the peak of attacks by Boko Haram, consumer companies sufferedsetbacks due to their inability to distribute goods to the crisis regions. Wesee these problems arising again if the issue of insecurity is not decisivelydealt with.