Kaduna train attack: Officials should be sacked over poor security system, says rights group

A group known as the Kaduna Communities for Social Justice (KCSJ) says federal government officials should have been sacked or asked to resign over the “poor security system” associated with rail transport in the country.

On March 28, a train was attacked around the Kateri-Rijana area of Kaduna state, with eight persons killed and at least 22 passengers still missing.

Following the incident, Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, had claimed that the proposal for the acquisition of security equipment for the Abuja-Kaduna rail track was rejected.

But according to a leaked memo the Punch said it obtained, the federal executive council (FEC) rejected a proposal for the installation of security equipment along the Abuja-Kaduna rail track presented by Amaechi because they “had doubts about the capability of a company”.

Days after the attack, Nuru Khalid, an Abuja-based imam, had criticised the federal government’s inability to find lasting solutions to the country’s security challenges.

Consequently, a mosque committee in Apo district sacked him.

Speaking on the developments at a media briefing in Kaduna on Wednesday, Muhammadu Adamu and Peter Musa, KCSJ president and secretary, respectively, said the federal government should have ensured that officials are held responsible for the lack of security system which may have prevented the attack.

“Kaduna state government under governor el-Rufai had asked the minister to stop operating the trains after 5pm, based on security reports. The minister confirmed that he knew of security threats before asking for the N3.7 billion contracts, adding hints that FEC’s collective decision to disapprove of his contract proposal should be blamed,” they said.

“Mogjan Limited which minister Amaechi highly favoured for this specialised contract was registered by a couple living in a Flat 1, Block 1 along Calabar Street in Area 7, Abuja, with RC Number 365567 on September 29, 1999 and our findings indicate that the company appears to be positioned as a middleman to collect huge payments for deployment of security equipment, while a company in the United Kingdom does the job.

“Following the train tragedy, only sheikh Nuru Khalid, chief imam of Apo legislative quarters mosque in Abuja, has lost his job, but others far more deserving of immediate sack or resignation hold onto their jobs.”