Stranded passengers at the Agbor train station

About 600 passengers, including children and the elderly, en-route Warri via the Nigerian Railway Corporation Ujewvu-Itakpe train service, were left to their fate for hours over a purported kidnap of one of the train drivers.

The incident occurred around 8:30pm on Tuesday at the Agbor station in Delta State.

One of the victims of the incident, Akpoteghor Iseakpobeje, said on arrival at Agbor, the driver of the train said he could no longer proceed on the journey because his colleague who ought to take over duty was abducted the previous day.

Iseakpobeje lamented that while the management refused to speak on the matter, security operatives who were on-board the train also abandoned them, when the driver walked away.

He said the journey, which began at 3:30pm, ended by 11:30pm, over two hours later than the scheduled time.

The curtains of the train were drawn, the doors left open to allow ventilation. A few male passengers loitered in the dark, outside the train, while women managed their little ones inside.

Following the development,the Federal Government has been urged to “checkmate the negligence” of the management of the NRC Itakpe-Ujevwu route.

“When the train got to Agbor station the driver turned off the engine and abandoned all passengers, children, mothers and the elderly at the middle of the bush with the flimsy excuse that his colleague who ought to take over duty from him was kidnapped the previous day.

“The passengers were stranded for about two hours, hungry and exhausted. If kidnappers were toinvade the train, over a hundred persons would have been taken captive.

“The gun carrying security personnel who were busy selling tickets illegally to train users, vanished from the scene when we needed them most.

“If nothing is done to remedy the situation, the unexpected will happen. The management of NRC must be overhauled to serve as a deterrent to others,” Iseakpobeje said in a terse statement. (The Nation)

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