Lagos Strengthens Rail Corridor Security With New Patrol Vehicles For NRC

By Sherif Salau

In a fresh push to protect one of the state’s most vital transport arteries, the Lagos State Security Trust Fund has handed over two fully operational patrol vehicles to the Nigerian Railway Corporation.

The presentation took place at the Mobolaji Johnson Train Station in Ebute Metta, where LSSTF Executive Secretary Dr Ayodele Ogunsan formally delivered the keys to NRC Managing Director Dr Kayode Opeifa. Each vehicle is valued at more than ₦50 million and is intended to give security teams greater reach along the railway network.

According to the Fund, the new assets will support police and civil defence units assigned to the railway, allowing faster patrols and quicker responses to incidents of vandalism, cable theft and other threats that have long plagued the corridors. Officials say improved mobility is essential if the growing number of passengers and the expanding rail infrastructure are to remain safe.

Dr Ogunsan described the donation as part of Lagos State’s wider effort to equip agencies that safeguard critical public assets. He urged the recipients to deploy the vehicles strictly for operational duties and to maintain them diligently so that the investment continues to deliver results.

Dr Opeifa welcomed the support, noting that reliable security is central to the smooth running of train services. He pledged that the vehicles would be used solely for the purpose for which they were given and, in a reciprocal gesture, presented a ₦500,000 donation to the Trust Fund to assist its ongoing work.

Representing the railway police command, Deputy Commissioner of Police Yahaya Usman also expressed appreciation and confirmed that the vehicles would be assigned to surveillance, routine patrols and rapid-response duties along the tracks.

The intervention underscores Lagos’s continuing focus on protecting transport infrastructure at a time when reliable rail services are becoming increasingly important to the city’s daily movement of people and goods.