The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has suspended an unspecified number of its staff for collecting cash from over 60 passengers onboard the Lagos-Ibadan Tran Service (LITS) on coach seven of the train without issuing them tickets
Penpushing reports that the suspended officials were sighted in a viral video where they were luring intending passengers to board the train at Obafemi Awolowo Train station in Ibadan going to Lagos, without purchasing tickets.
The video which was shared by one of the passengers Adenike Daramola, on her X handle, said she paid N18,000 cash for five persons, emphasizing that over 60 persons paid N3,600 each without tickets in coach seven of the train.
Penpushing further reports that Daramola in the trending video narrated how several passengers in Coach Seven did not obtain tickets but the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) officials collected cash from them on transit.
“We arrived at the train station around 3:40 p.m. While we were walking to the entrance of Obafemi Awolowo Train Station Ibadan, a uniformed Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) official approached us,” she recalled.
‘He asked if we had the tickets and I told him we were on our way to get tickets. He then asked how many we were and I told him that we were five. He told us to follow him. We were confident we could trust him because he was wearing a uniform and identified as a staff’, Daramola added.
“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 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 led 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.”
Penpushing also reports that the female passenger said the staff gave the excuse that if they(passengers) go to the counter to purchase the tickets they would not be able to sit together, adding that a few minutes after the train started moving, they started collecting cash from people on Coach Seven.
The Deputy Director of Public Relations, of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Yakub Mahmood, in a statement said an in-depth investigation is ongoing on the issue, but was silence on number of the suspended staff.
Penpushing reports that Mahmood said the action of the staff is a flagrant disobedience of laid down rules guiding the operations of the corporation and an utter betrayal of the confidence reposed on such workers
The Director of Public Relations of the corporation added that the staff were suspended pending the outcome of the investigation by a committee set up to investigate the matter which occurred on October 2,2023
Penpushing further reports that Mahmood in the statement noted that the corporation’s electronic ticketing system is being deployed and will be available on both the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service and the Warri-Itakpe Train Service (WITS) by the end of October.
The Director added that the management of the corporation encourages all intending passengers on LITS and other train corridors to insist on and demand boarding tickets after making appropriate payment at the designated stations or booking online appropriately.
‘This unwholesome attitude and image dent to the Corporation by any staff will not be tolerated nor treated with any levity. Accordingly, disciplinary proceedings in line with the extant rules citing relevant sections of the NRC General Rules and Public Service Rules (PSR) will definitely be visited on all those found wanting or connected to this irresponsible act,” he noted.
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