Civic Group, GAIN Announces N1Million Award For Lagos–Ibadan Train Whistleblower Who Exposed Ticket Racketeering By Officials

A civic organisation, Governance Advancement Initiative for Nigeria (GAIN), has announced a N1 million Whistleblower Prize for the author of the viral post with pictorial evidence of the ticket fraud on the Lagos – Ibadan railway.

GAIN, a civic organisation committed to working towards a corruption-free, equitable and accountable society, said that the courageous act had already led to corrective actions in the system.

The group believed that those who serve must do so with honour and integrity, adding that Nigerians as good citizens have the obligation to work towards the nation they deserve through active participation in the political process.

While expressing its commitment to giving similar awards to whistleblowers, the group called on members of the public to inform the whistleblower about the award so that he can come forward to collect the prize.

“The claimant should contact us at: info@wearegain.org,” the group said.

“GAIN commits to making similar awards to whistleblowers who can expose clear acts of corruption within the Nigerian law enforcement, state and federal civil service, judiciary and political class.

“To qualify for our whistleblower awards, such exposés must be unambiguous, and backed up with clear actionable evidence that can lead to organizational and societal change,” it added.

The Nigeria Railway Corporation has suspended the members of staff caught negotiating with passengers on the train service who did not have tickets.

A long viral post which went viral on social media showed the yet-to-be-identified staff collecting money from passengers who did not obtain tickets prior to the take-off of the train.

Daramola E. Adenike @Dara4Enjoyment who made the post on X (formerly Twitter) narrated how several passengers in one of the coaches did not obtain tickets but were allowed to stay after paying bribes to NRC officials.

The post read: “On my way to Lagos from Ibadan today, some NRC employees lured us to board the train without tickets. Initially, they acted like they were taking us to the ticket counter only for them to lead us to the railway without official ticket.

“They collected cash on transit. On 2nd October 2023, my friends and I were going back to Lagos after a weekend getaway in Ibadan.

“We arrived at the Train Station around 03:40pm. While we were walking to the entrance of Obafemi Awolowo Train Station Ibadan, a uniformed NRC official approached us.

“He asked if we had the tickets and I told him we were on our way to get tickets. He then asked how many we are and I told him that we are five (5).

“He told us to follow him. We were confident we could trust him because he was wearing a uniform and identified as a staff.

“My friends and I followed him thinking he was leading us to the ticket counter only for us to pass through screening and head towards the railway.

“I immediately told him that we do not have tickets to board the train but he said I shouldn’t worry that it would be sorted.

“He handed me over to another uniformed staff who led us to Coach 7. I told the lady the same thing that we do not have tickets and she said she was aware and it would be sorted.

“While pacing and looking for a staff, I saw new people come into the train and I approached one of them. I asked him if he has a ticket and he said yes. I asked him when he got the ticket and he replied, ‘just now’”