people trapped As Train falls off track in Lagos

Train derails in Agege, Lagos, many feared trapped.
Train accident in Agege in January, 2019 (@Moluabi1 on Twitter)

A rickety passenger train veered off the tracks in the Agege, Mangoro area of Lagos in the early hours of Thursday, January 10, 2019, with casualty figures yet to be ascertained at the time of filing this story.

Social media users say traffic along the Ikeja-Along—Iyana Ipaja axis has come to a standstill during the rush hour regular commute.

A coach or two have been photographed crashing off the track into the neighbourhood beside it, with initial reports suggesting that the derailment may have hit a few persons. Pulse is unable to verify this bit of information at the moment.

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) says an investigation showed that the train derailed as a result of faulty tracks.

According to Punch, the agency explained in a statement that the tracks had been reported by men of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) in the area and repair work on the damaged section of the rail was billed to commence later in the day.

Train derailment in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic nerve center, is quite common. On November 16, 2017, a train derailed around the Abattoir area of Agege, injuring many and leaving scores dead. 

On July 20, 2018, a train rammed into a Danfo bus that had suddenly gotten in the way, killing at least nine persons.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is bedeviled by crumbling transport infrastructure in inner cities and across states. 

Most of the tracks and trains crisscrossing the Nigerian landscape are decaying and have barely been maintained since the ‘60s. 

The President Buhari administration is focusing on revamping Nigeria’s accident prone, outdated rail transportation system.