The Nigeria Railway Corporation, on Sunday has announced the closure of Ekehen Station located in Edo state.
The Corporation in a terse statement issued on Sunday said the development became necessary following the attack on the train station on Saturday.
The New Diplomat reports that the Edo State Police Command late Saturday, announced that an unspecified number of travellers waiting to board a train from Igueben in Igueben Local Government Area of the state to Warri in Delta State, were kidnapped by suspected herdsmen.
The command, in a press statement issued by its spokesman, Chidi Nwabuzor, stated that the incident happened at about 4.00pm.
According to the statement, the suspected herdsmen, who were armed with AK-47 rifles, invaded the train station and shot sporadically into the air before herding an unspecified number of intending travellers into the bush.
Reacting to the attack, the NRC urged all passengers to avoid Ekehen Station as it has been closed down till further notice.
The statement reads, “Public Announcement: This is to inform our general public and most especially our esteemed passengers, that Ekehen Station has been temporarily closed due to security issues, till further notice.”
Another notice reads, “Due to the incident at Ekehen station on Saturday, WITS 01/ 02 will no longer stop at Ekehen Station. Please advise our customers.”
It would be recalled also that this latest attack came barely one year after the March 28, 2022 attack by bandits on the Abuja-Kaduna train, resulting in the death of about 14 passengers while 65 others were abducted.
