By Damilare Adeleye
The Nigerian Railway Corporation(NRC) has suspended some of its members of staff who were captured in a viral video illegally negotiating with passengers on-board Lagos- Ibadan Train Service.
While condemning the act in a statement obtained on Wednesday, the NRC management described the misconduct as regrettable and unacceptable, noting that the act ran in contrary to the norms of the corporation.
It would be recalled that Daramola Adenike, a passenger had earlier recounted some NRC employees lured her and some others passengers to board the train without buying official tickets at the train station. She added that the staff collected cash on transit.
The passengers narrated: “On 2nd October 2023, my friends and I were going back to Lagos after a weekend getaway in Ibadan.
“We arrived at the Train Station around 03:40pm. While we were walking to the entrance of Obafemi Awolowo Train Station Ibadan, a uniformed NRC official approached us.
“He asked if had the tickets and I told him we were on our way to get tickets. He then asked how many we are and I told him that we are five (5).
“He told us to follow him. We were confident we could trust him because he was wearing a uniform and identified as a staff.
“My friends and I followed him thinking he was leading us to the ticket counter only for us to pass through screening and head towards the Railway.
“I immediately told him that we do not have have tickets to board the train but he said I shouldn’t worry that it would be sorted.
“He handed me over to another uniformed staff who lead us to Coach 7. I told the lady the same thing that we do not have tickets and she said she was aware and it would be sorted.
“I was so uncomfortable and unsettled so I asked two other persons if they had tickets.
“I discovered every single person onboard coach 7 had no ticket and were lured in the same way.
“At this time, I realized what was happening and became more uncomfortable.
“I was about to step out to look for the ticket counter when I saw that the time. It was 3:55pm.
“While pacing and looking for a staff, I saw new people come into the train and I approached one of them. I asked him if he has a ticket and he said yes. I asked him when he got the ticket and he replied, “Just now”.
“This ruled out my assumption that we were too late.
“I saw the uniformed staff that led us into the train and asked him about the tickets. His response was that we are a group of 5 so if we go to the counter to purchase the tickets we would not be able to sit together.
“I was shocked. He couldn’t even make something believable up.
“I went back to my seat. I still had my money with me so I would wait and see what happens next.
“Few minutes after the train started moving, they started collecting cash from people on Coach 7.
“I paid N18,000 cash for 5 persons. Over 60 persons paid N3600 each without tickets.”
In reaction, the NRC management said the erring staff have been placed on suspension pending the outcome of ongoing investigation into the incident.