Ben Agande – Kaduna

A passenger on a Kaduna- Abuja train,  Abbas Abdullahi Machika, has insisted that suspected hoodlums on Thursday morning attacked an Abuja- bound train with projectiles and shattered one of the train windows.

However, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has denied knowledge of the incident.

The NRC Public Relations Officer, Mahmoud Yakubu, told Vanguard on the telephone he was yet to receive any official report on the attack.

He said: “We are not aware of the attack. To the best of my knowledge, NRC is not aware of any attack. There is no official report on that.”

But, Michika, who is a former member of the House of Representatives, said the train which left the Rigassa train station at 10:45 a.m., on Thursday was attacked few kilometres to Rijanna.

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Rijanna which is about 40 kilometres from Kaduna is known as a haven for criminals, particularly kidnappers terrorising motorists and other road users along the Abuja- Kaduna highway.

The ex-lawmaker told our correspondent that the “loud bang” heard during the attack must have emanated from the projectile.

According to him, no passenger was hurt in the incident but the train windows were tampered with by the marauders.

He said: “The attack happened to Windows 83 and 84, on coach SP 2 of the train that left Kaduna at 10:45 a.m., for Abuja. The incident occurred at Rijanna. The impact and the noise made us conclude that it was something of high velocity.

“There was no casualty but this underscores the insecurity situation in the country.”

Vanguard