The Kwara State Commissioner for Works and Transport, Engineer Rotimi Iliasu has disclosed that the train coaches that got burnt have been grounded for several years and that the report that it was deliberately set ablaze was malicious and false.
Meanwhile, a staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, ( NRC) Offa Station in Kwara State North Central Nigeria who pleaded not to be quoted has confirmed that hoodlums who have used the rail coaches as their hideout and place of smoking Indian hemp were responsible for the burnt coaches at Offa on Tuesday.
According to him, the incident occurred at about five o’clock in the evening.
He told VON in an interview that the coaches that were on fire have been abandoned and no longer functional in the past six or seven years.
Our source denied some media reports that the coaches or the train was attacked by hoodlums.
He also confirmed that a complete coach was burnt while half portion of the second coach out of about four coaches abandoned was also affected.
According to him, men of the fire fighters at Offa spent about thirty minutes to put off the fire and were later joined by some other good samaritans to put off the fire before it affected other attached coaches.
He explained that the remains of the fire of the Indian hemp that the hoodlums dropped on the seat of one of the coaches got burnt and lamented that the heavy presence of the touts have become a big treat to members of staff of the Offa Railway Corporation..
According to him, the Station Suprentendent immediately reported the matter to the Divisional Police Officer of the Station but before getting to the seen of the incident, the hoodlums had fled.
In a similar reaction to the incident, the Offa Descendants Union (ODU) said nobody sets North-bound Train on fire in Offa.
According to a statement issued by the Public Relations Officer of the union, “the attention of Offa Descendants’ Union, O.D.U has been drawn to a newspaper publication alleging that a North-bound train was set on fire by hoodlums in Offa.”
The statement explained further that in the said publication, the incident was stretched beyond its point of elasticity casting aspersions on the name and fame of Offa, their noble community.
The union stated categorically in the statement that the incident has been thoroughly investigated and found out that no any North-bound Train was set ablaze in Offa.
“ODU in its investigation, discovered that two (2) abandoned train Coaches of over 6 years have become hideouts for miscreants who smoked and left cigarette droppings that caused the fire outbreak in the two abandoned coaches” the statement added.
The Union therefore reiterated that their stock in trade in Offa is developing and donating properties worth millions of naira to the Federal and state Governments just like the case of 68 PMF Squadron Base (MOPOL Barrack), Ultra Modern Accident and Emergency Ward etc. and not vandalisation of public properties.
The Union called the attention of the management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to all their abandoned properties including staff quarters and train coaches and the need to work with the security operatives to get rid of miscreants occupying their properties in Offa.
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