A passenger train travelling from Itakpe to Warri derailed on Saturday in Kogi State, leaving passengers stranded for several hours before being rescued by security operatives.
CSP William Ovye-Aya, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Kogi State Command, who confirmed the incident on Sunday in Lokoja said that the incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. at Adogo community in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of the state.
Ovye-Aya said upon receiving a distress call, the Commissioner of Police, CP Naziru Kankarofi, immediately deployed officers and men to the scene to provide security cover for the affected passengers.
“The CP personally visited the Adogo derailment site on Sunday for an on-the-spot assessment. He met with officials of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and the stranded passengers.
“He also directed the deployment of additional security personnel to safeguard the people and facilities,” Ovye-Aya said.
The Command’s spokesperson said all passengers were safely evacuated to the Ajaokuta station and later assisted to continue to their respective destinations without any casualty.
He quoted the Commissioner as reiterating the Command’s commitment to working closely with other security agencies to ensure the safety of lives and property in the state.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
