One year after, Abuja community awaits overhead bridge at railway crossing

A year after residents of Chikakore axis of Kubwa, a satellite town in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), cried out to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) that the entrance to their community is in need of an overhead bridge, respite is yet to come to them, Daily Trust reports.   In […]

A year after residents of Chikakore axis of Kubwa, a satellite town in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), cried out to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) that the entrance to their community is in need of an overhead bridge, respite is yet to come to them, Daily Trust reports.  

In December 2022 this newspaper had reported how the tragic death of Selimot Idowu Suleiman, a principal accountant with the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Abuja, at a railway crossing, brought to light the dangers many rural communities along rail lines are exposed to as they go about their daily lives.     

Mrs Suleiman, a mother of three, was crushed in her car by a moving train on the Abuja-Kaduna track on December 15, 2022, at a crossing in Chikakore. 

Following the incident, the NRC, in a statement, warned residents and road users in the area against using illegal railway crossings, but to make use of overpasses constructed to ensure the safety of motorists and trains in the city. 

“The Board and Management of NRC wish to notify the public that there are two constructed overpasses at different locations within the Kubwa environs. This is for ease and safety of crossing railway lines of Abuja -Kaduna Train Service. 

“However, motorists have, for reasons best known to them, resorted to using illegally constructed level crossings, which have been in recent times fatal because of collisions by the moving trains,” the statement said. 

Our correspondent, who visited the community at the time, learnt that it was not the first time such a tragedy happened.    

It was gathered that the spot where the incident happened is the only access road to the community, named ‘Agwan-Fulani’.   

Despite appeals by the community, which got the attention of the then Minister of State for FCT, Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, who visited the scene, the situation had remained the same. 

When Daily Trust visited the community recently, there was no sign of the authority’s intervention as the route remained the way it was. 

Passersby and vehicles were seen crossing the rail track in and out of the community. 

It was observed that the two billboards of caution had been mounted at both sides of the rail track  

The chairman of Chikakore Community Zone-E, Ismail Olaposi Yusuf, told Daily Trust Saturday that several appeal letters had been written to FCTA to do the needful, but to no avail. 

“After the NTA woman died, the Minister of State FCT, Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu, visited. After the visit, a team from her office came around and it was agreed that there was going to be an overhead bridge. They sent some engineers; Chinese and Nigerian counterparts, who mapped a layout of how the bridge would be constructed. 

“They visited twice and after that period and up till date, we have not seen them and we are actually at the verge of sending a reminder letter to the current FCT minister, Nyesom Wike; a reminder which we are hoping to deliver either tomorrow or next week, so that we can update him on what happened. We hope he swings into action so that the community has the benefits of what is due. 

“We will attach all the supporting documents to the letter, so we can also submit one each to the ministry of transport, the Nigeria Railway Corporation, and possibly the National Assembly, because we don’t know where help could come from,” Yusuf said.

He said after the last incident, “the Nigerian Railway Corporation and the community arranged to station some people there to raise flags, stop vehicles and the rest but then the people they sent from their end could not even stay a day or two. 

“We brought local people there, but we could not sustain it because we had to pay them and you know all those locals if you are not there, they won’t do the schedule as it is expected.” 

He however said since the death of Mrs Suleiman, there had been no tragedy.

“There has been no death since she died. Though recently, I called the NRC to inform them that we observed that the train drivers do not really give adequate notice when they’re about to pass the community. The horn was not as loud as it used to be, but that had been corrected,” he said. 

He emphasised that the spot where the incident happened is the only access road to the community, adding that the needful should be done to prevent future occurrences. 

“The lasting solution is the construction of an overhead bridge, because we’re not praying that such should happen again. All parties that came around looked at it and we have all seen that this portion we’re talking about is the approved access road into that community and the community has actually been existing even before the advent of the railway tracks so we should just do the needful at the appropriate time,” he said. 

In a chat with our reporter, Fatai Suleiman, husband of Selimota, victim of the December 15 train accident, said residents of the community had appealed to the railway authorities many times to erect an overhead bridge across the rail crossing where the accident happened.  

Suleiman said he had reached out to the Ministry of Transportation over the issue. 

“I personally wrote two letters to the Ministry of Transportation as the secretary of the community association requesting for an overhead bridge, and I still have the copies of the letters if you want to see them. The letters were received and stamped, but till today nothing positive has been done,” he said. 

Suleiman also noted that similar train accidents had occurred at the spot, at least, twice in the past, in which the victims were mutilated beyond recognition. 

He said some days ago a car nearly got stuck again, while a train was approaching. 

“Some time last week, a car nearly got stuck there again and a train was approaching. I have the voice note; people saw it and were shouting before they could forestall it. The government should build the bridge to prevent further occurrences of such. Lives have been lost, my wife has gone and there is nothing to show for it since that day. The place is still very dangerous,” he said. 

A resident, Moshood Lawal, said over 40 school buses cross the rail track daily, putting pupils’ lives at risk. 

Lawal said: “We have actually written a series of letters over the issue and what we wanted at that time was for the community and either the NRC or the FCDA through the satellite town development committee to actually come together to see how this overhead bridge can be done. 

“It’s not done anywhere where you allow railway crossing across roads for safety of lives. The community was even willing to support but till date nothing has happened. 

“I am appealing for immediate resolution of this problem. This community has over 2,000 residents. I can tell you authoritatively that we have over 40 school buses crossing that railway line. Children’s lives are at risk. 

“So, lives are always at risk; everybody is living in palpable fear. It has happened for the first time. We have saved the situation from happening again like twice. Nobody can tell. 

“There are schools within the community, there are places of worship within the community, and there are families with women and children living in this community. It tells a lot about the quality of placement we put on.