Panic gripped commuters on Thursday morning when a train coach detached while in motion along the Ladipo section of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway. The incident, which occurred in the morning, involved a train en route from Ogba Ayo in Ogun State to Apapa in Lagos.

Eyewitnesses described the scene as chaotic, with passengers and road users nearby taken aback by the unexpected separation of the rear coach from the rest of the train. “All the passengers were taken aback, but thankfully, no lives were lost; many ran for their lives,” said Oloruntoba Omodele, a witness to the incident.

The detachment lasted for over 30 minutes before the coach was stabilised, and normalcy was restored. Emergency responders arrived swiftly to manage the situation and ease the resulting traffic buildup in the already congested Ladipo area.

Despite the incident’s significance, efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Mamood Yakunu, were unsuccessful. Calls and text messages went unanswered, leaving the public without official information on the incident.

The incident highlights concerns about the safety and maintenance of Nigeria’s rail infrastructure. As investigations into the incident continue, commuters and road users are left to wonder about the reliability of the rail system.

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