Senator Nicholas Tofowomo, lawmaker representing Ondo South in the Senate, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to establish Railway Police at every station to curb the attacks on railway passengers and stations in the country.
Tofowomo who is the Vice Chairman Senate Committee on Land transport which covers railways and mass transit commended President Muhammadu Buhari for reviving the railway transport system in the country.
He said this in a statement which Akinrinlola Olumide, his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has done very well for the railway revolution initiated by his administration in Nigeria. I must commend him for transforming the country’s transportation infrastructure in the nation’s rail transportation system. The reconstruction of the rail lines in the country has enabled the people of Nigeria to enjoy affordable transportation and at the same time generate revenue for the government. I sincerely commend the president for this initiative,” the Senator said.
He, however, lamented the porosity of security arrangements at railway stations and the incessant attacks on passengers by terrorists.
According to him, “the president has done very well over the ray of opportunities created by the railway revolution embarked upon by his administration. But there is a need for him to complete his good work by establishing the “Railway Police” at every station to provide physical and procedural security measures to mitigate every type of security threat.
“If established, they should be provided with effective wireless devices and monitoring screens to communicate and monitor the movement of the train from one station to another so that security breaches could be mitigated. In the UK and other developed countries, they have railway police. For example, a train travelling from London to Manchester could be monitored by the railway police through cameras attached to the train and linked with the monitoring screens at the office of the railway police sited at the railway station.
“This is the standard in developed countries. I, therefore, urge the President to do this before the expiration of his administration to forestall the re-occurrence of what happened at the Igueben Train Station in Igueben Local Government Area of Edo State where scores of passengers waiting to board the train to Warri in Delta State were kidnapped by suspected herdsmen on Saturday evening.
The Ondo South Lawmaker expressed sympathy to the families, relations and friends of those who were kidnapped at the Train Station, saying the formation of the railway police will help to stop further attacks and mitigate every type of security threat in the future if established by the president.
“While I express my sympathy to the families, relations and friends of those who were kidnapped at Igueben Train Station, Mr President should be proactive in arresting security breaches with the timely formation of the railway police at our railway stations across the country to stop the reoccurrence of attacks on railway passengers in Nigeria,” he added.
“The formation of this new security body at the railway stations should be done immediately especially now that railway passengers are the target of kidnappers and terrorists since many citizens are no longer comfortable travelling on our roads,” Senator Tofowomo stressed.
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