NRC Promises to Release Accident Report

Chinedu Eze

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has assured that it would release its report on the train and the Lagos State staff bus accident, which occurred at Ikeja area of the state earlier this month.

The Bureau has also agreed to deepen its relationships with the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), on ways of enhancing safety in the rail and road sectors.

Speaking during courtesy visits to the two organsiations in Lagos, the Director-General, NSIB, Akin Olateru, said investigators had begun investigation into the causal and contributory factors of the March 9, 2023 train and bus accident in Lagos.

He explained that its report, which would be made public, would also include safety recommendations to both parties on how a recurrence could be avoided in the future.

Speaking at LASEMA, Olateru regretted the accident, which claimed 10 lives with colossal damage to the bus, but assured the Lagos State government that its investigators would do a thorough job and come up with safety recommendations.

He, however, said that it does not impose blame on any party, rather, issue safety recommendations on how such accident could be prevented in the future.

He explained that NSIB has well-trained 45 investigators who are deep on investigation of rail and maritime serious incidents and accidents.

“We have 45 well-trained investigators who are well-trained in the United States, Singapore Academy and others. So, we do what we do well. It takes time to carry out investigation.

“But, for this, I don’t think it will take time because some of our investigators have already been trained on train and maritime investigation.

“All the accidents and serious incidents that we have investigated in the past, we made them public. There is no hiding of anything, but the thing is we don’t blame anyone. We have the causal and contributory factors that would tell you why the accident happened,” Olateru said.

The Director-General also sought partnership between NSIB and LASEMA on capacity building, training and exchange of idea.

Earlier in his presentation, the Permanent Secretary, LASEMA, Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, showed some slides on the train-bus accident and how its agency was able to minimise the casualties.