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FG introduces armed guards on Abuja-Kaduna trains

By on August 5, 2016

To ensure the security of lives and property on the Abuja-Kaduna rail, the Federal Government on Wednesday announced that it had introduced armed guards on the trains that ply the rail line.

It also stated that it had drafted hundreds of police officers to man the route of the rail service.

The government disclosed this on its official Twitter handle, noting that there had been questions relating to the security being provided for the service.

In the tweet, the government said the question for the Federal Ministry of Transportation during the Federal Executive meeting was on security for the Abuja-Kaduna rail route.

Providing an answer to the question, the government tweeted, “Hundreds of policemen are on the route; also, armed guards are on the trains.”

Officials of the ministry confirmed this, as they noted that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had always talked about providing security for the rail service, which was why he said the government would fence the tracks.

Early last month, Amaechi stated that the contract for the perimeter fencing of the rail track had been awarded and that work would soon commence at the terminals.

“When we get money, we will start fencing. The contract has been awarded and we are looking for money, but we will soon get money and we hope to start fencing in the next two to three months,” the minister had said.

President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the $1.46bn Abuja-Kaduna commercial rail transport system last week Tuesday, stating that it was Nigeria’s first-ever standard gauge rail track to go into operation.

 

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