*‘Although both Messrs Amaechi and Okhiria knew that the Abuja-Kaduna train was not safe, they kept on giving passengers a false sense of security,’ says Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Urging the Nigerian authorities for their prosecution, Mr. Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) has accused Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, Minister for Transportation, and Fidet Okhiria, Managing Director of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) of negligence in the recent devastating attack on a train plying the Abuja-Kaduna rail line.

ConsumerConnect reports Mr. Falana in a statement also referenced other reports of attacks on the Abuja-Kaduna rail line, and accused the NRC and Amaechi of not taking enough measures to forestall the latest incident.

Photo collage of the bombed Abuja-Kaduna train    Credit: Gazette 

The legal icon stated: “Although both Messrs Amaechi and Okhiria knew that the Abuja-Kaduna train was not safe, they kept on giving passengers a false sense of security.

“Since both of them knew that the tragedy that befell the nation last week was waiting to happen and did not adopt measures to prevent it, the President should direct the Inspector-General of Police to investigate and prosecute them for criminal negligence.

“Meanwhile, both of them should not be allowed to continue to risk the lives of train passengers in the country.”

Contrary to claims by the NRC that there is no fraud in the sales of train tickets, he recalled that a ticket racketeering syndicate was arrested in 2019.

Falana declared since then, the NRC has not been able to crack down on other syndicates operating in the Abuja-Kaduna and Lagos-Ibadan train stations.

According to him, the corporation and the Ministry of Transportation are legally bound to bear the cost of treatment for those injured during the incident.

The legal luminary further said: “It is indisputable that the loss of lives, personal injury, and abduction of passengers by the terrorists was caused ‘by want of reasonable care, diligence or skill on the part of the Corporation or its servants’.

“In other words, top officials of the Nigerian Railway Corporation and the Ministry of Transportation are liable for the criminal negligence that caused the bomb attack.”