Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) said that the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) should be held responsible for the train accident that happened in Lagos State last week Thursday and must pay compensation to the victims.
He said this in a press statement he issued yesterday in Lagos, also called on the Lagos State government to challenge both BRT operators and NRC in court if they failed to compensate the victims.
He said, “The federal government should compel the management of the NRC to erect metal barriers in all railway level crossings to regulate traffic movement and avert the incessant deaths recorded at railway level crossings in the country.
“In a very insensitive reaction to the unfortunate incident, Mr Jerry Oche, the Lagos District Manager of Nigeria Railway Corporation, said, ‘We have warned passersby, motorists and other road users to stay away from railway tracks.’ The railway track is a dangerous place to toy with; everything involved is iron, both the rail tracks and the train itself.
“A similar accident occurred on 1st May 2019, when a tricycle rider and three passengers lost their lives in a crash on Shina Peters Road, Iju-Ishaga, in the Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State.
“It was reported that the rider was about to cross the railway line when a speeding train crushed the tricycle. As usual, the management of the NRC blamed the accident on the recklessness of the rider of the tricycle.