NRC SHUTS EDO TRAIN STATION INDEFINITELY

The Nigeria Railway Corporation today announced the closure of Ekehen Station in Edo State till further notice.

The organisation revealed that the decision became necessary following rising security challenges.

You will recall that gunmen suspected to be herdsmen on Saturday evening abducted many passengers waiting to board a train from the Igueben station in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State to Warri in Delta State, while many others sustained injuries.

The Spokesperson for Edo State Police Command, Chidi Nwabuzor, confirmed the incident in a statement.

According to him, the abductors, armed with AK 47, invaded the train station and shot sporadically into the air before abducting scores of intending travellers into the bush.

Nwabuzor said that many of the passengers sustained bullet wounds, assuring that operatives were on the trail of the abductors with an aim to rescue those the kidnappers herded into the bush.

The incident came barely one year after the March 28, 2022 attack by bandits on the Abuja-Kaduna train, resulting in the death of about 14 passengers while 65 others were abducted.

Bush combing operations have commenced in order to rescue the victims and arrest the fleeing kidnappers. Further developments will be communicated.”