NRC, BRT Must Compensate Train Accident Victims — Falana SAN

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has said that the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) should be held culpable for the train accident that happened in Ikeja, Lagos, last Thursday.

Six people reportedly died in the accident while many others were injured when a train coming from the Abeokuta axis rammed into a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bus carrying passengers, most of whom were civil servants.

Falana advocated that the corporation should pay compensation to the victims of the accident, both wounded and dead.

Falana, who is the Chairman of the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), said both the BRT operators and NRC were insured and therefore should compensate the victims of the accident.

He called on the Lagos State Government to challenge BRT operators and NRC in court if they failed to compensate the victims.

On his part, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said the accident was due to the reckless driving of the bus driver, Oluwaseun Osinbajo, while trying to beat the train’s traffic signal.

He said survivors said Osinbajo ignored their advice when they asked him to stop for the moving train to avoid the accident.

He added that the driver had been arrested and would be prosecuted soon, while the management staff of NRC would equally be charged for the criminal negligence that led to the accident.