Passengers cite difficulties booking at official fares as NRC blames scammers, limited train capacity and weaknesses in station access control.
Five years after the Federal Government introduced a N900 million electronic ticketing system to curb corruption and improve accountability in railway operations, fresh allegations of ticket racketeering on the Abuja-Kaduna Train Service are renewing questions about whether the platform has made it easier for passengers to obtain tickets at official prices.
The controversy followed claims by Faizah Raji, an Instagram blogger who also shared her experience on X, that she could not secure a ticket through the official booking portal but was offered one by an agent for N7,000, against the official adult fare of N3,600 she cited.
The alleged N3,400 difference highlights the potential cost to passengers of relying on unofficial intermediaries, although the account does not independently establish how the ticket was obtained or whether railway personnel were involved.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation has denied involvement in ticket racketeering, attributing the problem partly to scammers exploiting excess demand and weaknesses in station access control. It also says private concessionaires, rather than the corporation directly, operate the electronic ticketing platforms.
The latest claims come two years after the NRC announced an investigation into allegations of ticket racketeering involving officials on the Abuja-Kaduna route.
The findings of that probe, including whether disciplinary or enforcement action followed, remain unestablished from the information available for this report.
However, the renewed allegations have brought attention back to whether the electronic ticketing system, introduced in January 2021 to reduce revenue leakages and opportunities for corrupt practices, has sufficiently addressed the problems it was designed to solve.
In her account, Raji said the official portal typically opens for bookings around 6 a.m., but prospective passengers increasingly encounter messages indicating that tickets are sold out or unavailable shortly after the platform opens.
She said she attempted to book a ticket for her intended journey at 6 a.m. but was unsuccessful, prompting her to contact an agent whose number she had obtained.
According to her, the agent requested N7,000 for a ticket against the regular adult fare of N3,600.
Raji argued that the price difference created an opportunity for intermediaries to profit from passengers struggling to obtain tickets through official channels.
At the difference of N3,400 per ticket, an agent selling 10 tickets at the alleged price would collect N34,000 above the equivalent official fares, assuming all tickets were genuine and sold at those prices. The actual profit, however, would depend on the agent’s costs and how the tickets were obtained.
“This is a parallel market,” Raji alleged, questioning why passengers were struggling to access tickets through the official platform while intermediaries appeared able to offer them at higher prices.
She also raised concerns about reports of passengers boarding trains without valid tickets, arguing that such practices, if established, would point to weaknesses in ticket verification and boarding controls.
The claims have not independently established that NRC officials were involved in the alleged resale arrangements or that the corporation deliberately withheld tickets from the official portal.
In a statement issued in response to the viral video, signed by Callistus Unyimadu, chief public relations officer of the NRC, the corporation said Raji had acknowledged that management warned prospective passengers to purchase tickets only through approved channels.
The corporation said that although her experience might be correct, her conclusions about the involvement of the NRC and its management were misplaced.
It maintained that passengers who patronise unauthorised ticket agents against its warnings do so at their own risk and that the corporation should not be held liable for losses arising from such transactions.
The NRC also clarified that it does not directly operate the electronic ticketing platforms, which are managed under public-private partnership arrangements.
According to the corporation, SecureID/TPS handles ticketing for the Abuja-Kaduna Train Service, Global Software Digital Solutions (GSDS) manages ticketing for the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, while Fane Warri-Itakpe Ticketing Solutions Ltd. handles the Warri-Itakpe service.
The corporation said the concessionaires were approved by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and the Federal Executive Council before 2023.
The NRC attributed part of the ticketing challenge to rising passenger demand, saying demand for train travel had exceeded available supply by more than tenfold, creating a significant imbalance between the number of passengers seeking seats and the capacity available.
It also said scammers had devised ways of obtaining multiple National Identification Numbers (NINs) to purchase tickets for resale to unsuspecting passengers.
Following the 2022 train bombing, the government introduced the NIN requirement for ticket purchases as part of efforts to improve passenger identification and reduce ticket racketeering, according to the corporation.
The NRC said it subsequently introduced a second verification process in 2025, requiring passengers to present personal identification cards when boarding, in addition to the initial verification of the NIN used to purchase their tickets.
“The NRC ticketing and verification system is integrated live with the NIMC database. Our system at Idu, Kubwa in Abuja, and at Rigasa in Kaduna, has the capacity to pull and display the picture of the person whose NIN number was used in purchasing the ticket from NIMC database.
“That is the first point of the two way verification. At this point the individual with a third party ticket will definitely be discovered and refused boarding. This capacity also requires a good Access Control System at the station.
“The Rigasa/Kaduna station being a hurriedly adopted station do not have an acceptable Access Control System thereby occasionally allowing agents of scammers to overwhelm security operatives. To check this, in 2025 NRC introduced the MM2 airport system requiring second verification at boarding with a personal ID card,” the statement added.
The NRC explained that the system at Idu and Kubwa stations in Abuja and Rigasa station in Kaduna could retrieve the photograph associated with a passenger’s NIN.
The corporation, however, acknowledged weaknesses in access control at Rigasa station, saying the facility had been hurriedly adopted and did not have an acceptable access-control system, occasionally allowing scammers’ associates to overwhelm security operatives.
It said the additional identification checks were introduced to address such vulnerabilities, while the electronic ticketing companies had been directed to improve access to their platforms.
The corporation further declared zero tolerance for ticket racketeering, warning that staff found culpable or involved in colluding with offenders would be dealt with summarily.
Despite the NRC’s explanation, passengers commenting on the controversy have called for a more comprehensive investigation into the alleged resale of tickets and the possible involvement of railway personnel.
“The corporation shall continue to ensure quality customer service at all times, across all our operation areas as we are determined to ensure that the train becomes a first choice alternative by discerning travellers across the country,” the corporation added
One social media user, L’akerz, argued that the corporation should not dismiss the underlying concerns simply because the blogger’s allegations against management might have gone too far.
The user called for undercover investigations to identify those involved and stronger safeguards against ticket hoarding and resale at inflated prices, stressing that accountability and lasting solutions should take precedence over protecting the corporation’s image.
Similarly, Muyideen Nagim said the difficulty of obtaining tickets had pushed some passengers towards third-party sellers.
“Whether you admit it or not, this ticket racketeering is true and very shameful. To get a ticket is mostly through 3rd parties. Investigate & bring erring staff to book,” he said, adding that he had resorted to road travel because of the difficulty of securing tickets.
Another commenter, Rotimi, urged the NRC to take responsibility for resolving the problem, calling for a more comprehensive solution that would ensure passengers were electronically identified.
Other users also alleged that similar ticketing difficulties occurred on the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service, suggesting that concerns about access to tickets might extend beyond the Abuja-Kaduna corridor. These comments, however, do not independently establish the scale of the problem across the network.
The renewed allegations have revived questions about the outcome of the investigation announced in 2024.
At the time, the NRC, through Yakub Mahmood, its deputy director of public relations, acknowledged receiving complaints from passengers who were experiencing difficulties obtaining tickets online and announced an investigation into allegations of racketeering involving some officials on the Abuja-Kaduna service.
The corporation had assured passengers that the situation would be addressed and that measures would be taken to resolve challenges with the electronic ticketing platform.
However, details of the findings of that investigation, including whether any officials were disciplined or prosecuted, have not been established from the information currently available.
The latest controversy also raises questions about the performance of the electronic ticketing platform introduced in January 2021.
The N900 million system was designed to improve efficiency, reduce physical contact between passengers and railway personnel, strengthen accountability and curb revenue leakages associated with manual ticket sales.
The Abuja-Kaduna railway itself was developed as part of a wider infrastructure project. The Federal Government said the nine train stations along the corridor were included in an all-inclusive project contract worth $874 million awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC).
Yet the continuing complaints over access to tickets suggest that expanding railway infrastructure and introducing digital booking systems may not, on their own, eliminate opportunities for fraud if ticket allocation, verification and enforcement remain vulnerable.
For commuters, the immediate concern is the ability to obtain tickets at official prices without having to depend on intermediaries.
For the NRC and its concessionaires, the challenge is to demonstrate that tickets released for sale are allocated transparently, that suspicious transactions can be detected and that passengers who report irregularities receive a credible response.
The next steps will depend partly on whether the NRC publishes the findings of its earlier investigation and provides verifiable data on ticket supply, booking demand, complaints, enforcement actions and the effectiveness of the additional identity checks introduced in 2025.
Until those questions are answered, the dispute over the Abuja-Kaduna service remains a test of whether Nigeria’s investment in electronic railway ticketing has translated into the transparency and ease of access promised to passengers.
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