For thousands of Lagos residents who depend on trains to escape the city’s traffic, arriving safely is just as important as arriving on time.

That concern came into sharper focus when the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF) donated two patrol vehicles to security agencies responsible for protecting the railway network.
 
The vehicles were presented by the LSSTF Executive Secretary/CEO, Dr Ayodele Ogunsan, during a visit to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) headquarters in Ebute-Metta, Lagos. One went to the Nigeria Police Railway Command and the other to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Railway Command.
 
Ogunsan said the intervention was driven by the need to extend security attention to the railway as more Lagos residents embrace train services.
 
“When this idea came that we must secure our railway, immediately I connected with him, because the bond between security and transportation is very key,” he said, referring to NRC Managing Director, Dr Kayode Opeifa.
 
He said the Fund’s focus on railway security was part of a wider effort to support security across Lagos’ transportation system.
 
“Now we are telling Lagosians, especially the users of our rail, that Lagos State Security Trust Fund is also putting searchlight on the railway,”   Ogunsan said. “We want to make sure that everybody who uses all our railway stations believes that the place, that space, is also very safe.”
 
He urged the police and NSCDC to use the vehicles strictly for patrol and operational duties, stressing that their effective deployment would influence future support.
 
The LSSTF chief also disclosed that the Fund monitors the use of vehicles and other equipment it provides to security agencies.
 
Opeifa welcomed the donation, noting that it was part of an ongoing relationship with the LSSTF.
 
“They have done this kind of donation before. This is about the second or third time, and they have been doing it consistently,” he said.
 
The railway security commands said the vehicles would improve their ability to patrol the rail corridors and respond to incidents.
 
The NSCDC Railway Command representative, Ademola Adetola, described the intervention as “the start of a new era of safety.”
 
The visit also produced an unexpected moment when Ogunsan took a ride in a Mercedes-Benz vehicle capable of travelling on both roads and railway tracks.

“What I’ve never experienced before in my life, I experienced this here,” he said, visibly impressed by the unusual mode of transport.
 
Among those at the event was railway heritage advocate Tayo Olaniyi, who manages the Railway Museum at Jaekel House. He stressed that security was important not only for passengers and infrastructure but also for protecting Nigeria’s railway heritage.

“Security is very important. It cannot be left with only the politicians and police,” Olaniyi said, calling for greater cooperation among railway communities and security agencies.

With the vehicles now assigned to the railway commands, the immediate task is to put them to work on the corridors and stations they are expected to protect.