The Nigerian Railway Corporation has confirmed that all passengers are safe following a technical glitch that affected the Itakpe-Warri train service on February 18, 2025.

It was, however, gathered that the passengers were left stranded at the station for several hours as they had to spend the night there.

In a press statement signed by the Deputy Director of Public Relations, Yakubu Mahmood, on Thursday, the NRC stated that despite the disruption, all passengers remained safe and had successfully reached their destinations.

The incident, which occurred around 18:00 hours, led to passengers spending the night at the Ajaokuta Train Station. However, in the early hours of Wednesday, another locomotive was dispatched to convey them safely to Warri Station and their respective destinations.

“The glitch which occurred around 18:00 hours, made all passengers spend the night at the Ajaokuta Train Station, until the early hours of the morning of Wednesday, when they continued their trip and eventually got back to the Warri Station and safely back to their destination,” the NRC stated.

The NRC commended the Kogi State Government and its security officials for ensuring the safety of passengers throughout the delay.

“The Director of Operations, Mr Akin Osinowo, on behalf of the NRC management, expressed gratitude and commendation to the government and officials of Kogi State for the adequate security provided at the site of the glitch.

“This gave the passengers confidence of being secured and safe throughout the period until another locomotive came in the early hours that conveyed them to their destination.”

To compensate affected passengers, the NRC management has directed its ticket concessionaire to issue an apology via bulk message and provide a 100 per cent refund of ticket fares.

“The management also instructed the ticket concessionaire to send a bulk message to all passengers on board, apologizing for the failure and the 100 per cent refund of their ticket fare.”

Reiterating its commitment to providing a reliable and efficient railway system, the NRC apologised to passengers for the inconvenience caused by the disruption.

The NRC also pledged to take preventive measures to ensure such incidents do not occur again on the Itakpe-Warri Train Service or any other national train corridor.