TWO dismissed staff of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) have attributed their suspension and subsequent sack to the exposure of top management of the corporation for orchestrating a criminal syndicate and looting national assets.

One of the staff, Olarewaju Michael Onakan claimed he, alongside Rufa’i Magaji, were suspended and subsequently dismissed in order to cover up the theft of railway property, including traction motors, armoured cables, and railway sleepers.

In his petition to the Nigeria Police Force, dated February 27, 2026, the aggrieved staff highlighted a pattern of systemic theft allegedly orchestrated by the former Regional District Manager for the Northern District, Adewale Adedeji Rasheed, and a network of department heads. 

According to the petition, between 2024 and 2025, Rasheed allegedly diverted railway property to fund personal projects, including his daughter’s N25 million tuitions abroad.

Other allegations include the sale of eight to ten traction motors from the Zaria Diesel Workshop, removal and replacement of 90 per cent of armoured cables at Zaria station with substandard aluminium wires, and the stripping of Kaduna’s Bridge Yard of rails, sleepers, and wagon frames days before a scheduled inspection by the Managing Director. 

The petition named a buyer identified as “PRINCE” as the recipient of the stolen property, alleging that internal collaborators and compromised security officers facilitated the illegal transactions.

According to the petition, seen by The ICIR, the syndicate includes Shina Abiodun, accused of facilitating the sale of traction motors, and Joel Olurungbon, who was accused of supervising the vandalism of armoured cables and served on the panel that later dismissed the petitioner and other aggrieved staff. 

It also listed members of the Railway Police, including Inspector Hallen Moses, and a local security commandant, known as “Gayu,” who are allegedly facing separate charges for the theft of sleepers and transformers.

Onakan claimed that despite the evidence provided to the corporation and the police, he and his colleague, Magaji, were suspended for twelve months and subsequently dismissed in February 2026, over ‘fabricated theft allegations’.

The whistleblower asserted that the panel that dismissed them was composed of the very officials involved in the alleged thefts, noting that it was designed to shield perpetrators while punishing innocent staff. 

Onakan was demanding a thorough investigation into the bank statements, call records, and other financial activities of the officials named in the petition.

He also called for their immediate reinstatement, payment of all withheld salaries and benefits since May 2025, and compensation for damages resulting from what he described as an unjust dismissal. 

Backstory

According to Onakan, the events that led to their suspension began on December 22, 2024. 

On that fateful day, he and Magaji had gone to purchase a goat for the Christmas period when they noticed an isolated pile of iron. He claimed that they contacted a man named Nuhu, who was with Sani, the station’s security chairman, to identify the iron. Onakan and Rufai guided them to the location, intending only to report the finding.

Despite this, the police and management later accused them of attempting to steal over 90 poles kept within the Kaduna Junction Police premises. 

Onakan noted that the poles were large and heavy, requiring at least four people to move, and a truck would have been required to transport them. 

Following the accusation, Onakan claimed that he and Magaji cooperated with authorities as informants to identify the real culprits.

According to him, Magaji secretly recorded conversations with suspected perpetrators, which allegedly led to arrests with the assistance of the Kaduna State Vigilante.

A video seen by The ICIR also showed a man identified as Nuhu confessing to involvement in the theft.

Before the operation, a letter was addressed to the management of the NRC from the office of the Area Commander, Nigeria Police Railway Area Command, Zaria, informing them of the use of Magaji as an informant to arrest a syndicate following a complaint of vandalism.

Despite this, Onakan said the management ignored all the evidence provided, including the letter from the police, kept them on suspension for 12 months and eventually dismissed them in February 2026 over ‘fabricated charges.’

He further claimed that the panel included officials he had accused of involvement in the theft, adding that they were not afforded the opportunity to defend themselves or even invited before any disciplinary panel.

The ICIR gathered that both dismissal letters were dated September 30, 2025, yet purportedly took effect retroactively from July 1, 2025.

Alleged manipulated evidence

Onakan also accused NRC management of relying on private call records and manipulated audio recordings to justify their dismissal. He alleged that they were pressured to pose for staged photographs with tools and iron materials they had never handled.

According to him, citing call records without consent violated their privacy rights and formed part of a broader conspiracy to remove them from the system.

Before his suspension, Onakan said he had been transferred to Zaria under what he described as strict monitoring, a move he believes was not unconnected with his knowledge of internal irregularities.

Demands and pre-action notice

The petitioners had demanded a comprehensive investigation into the bank statements, call logs and financial transactions of officials named in the complaint.

They also sought immediate reinstatement, payment of all withheld salaries and benefits since May 2025, including compensation for damages arising from what they described as wrongful dismissal.

Pre-legal action notice

The dismissed staff have issued a three-month pre-action notice against the NRC, warning that they will pursue legal action if authorities fail to address the allegations.

In a pre-action notice obtained by The ICIR and dated February 27, 2026, the solicitors to the whistleblowers said that if the demands were not met within three months, they would initiate legal proceedings at the National Industrial Court to compel the NRC to reinstate them and pay damages.

‘Bring evidence of my involvement’ Rasheed says

When The ICIR reached out to the former Northern District Regional Manager, Adewale Adedeji Rasheed, he confirmed that he is aware of the two dismissed staff, Onakan and Magaji. 

He stated that during his brief tenure at Zaria, the two were caught committing crimes, with reports filed to the Kaduna Police. “They were caught on two or three occasions. On both occasions, a committee of about five people was set up to look into their cases,” Rasheed said.

He added that there were reports from both security personnel and police, which the committees reviewed before recommending their dismissal. 

According to him, he was informed of the cases, set up the necessary committees, and forwarded reports to his Managing Director and NRC management. 

“The committee reviewed everything and recommended dismissal for them. Normally, in such cases, I am informed, and I set up a committee to look into it. I ordered the report to be sent to my MD and management. I even asked them to temper justice with mercy but ultimately, it was the headquarters that handled their cases,” Rasheed said.

On the broader claims made in the petition about his involvement in selling of the railway assets, Rasheed stated, “I don’t know anything about them. Let them provide evidence, and they can take it to court. I am ready. I don’t have anything further to say about that.”

When pushed further, he declined further comment, insisting that communication be put in writing.

We never recommended their dismissal – panel chairman

The chairman of the committee created to investigate the alleged theft involving Onakan and Magaji, Kehinde Doche, insisted that the panel never recommended the dismissal of the two staffers.

“The committee never recommended anything like dismissal,” he said, adding that such decisions fall under the discretion of the Human Resources department.

“The discretion is with HR, and that is why I gave you the contact of the people representing the HR agency,” he said.

When asked whether the committee found the staff guilty, Doche said the two were culpable in their findings and the report was forwarded to the management.

He, however, refused to comment on whether the committee recommended their suspension or any other form of punishment.

When The ICIR reached out to the District Human Resource officer, Zaria Bashir Bako, he declined to comment on the suspension and the subsequent dismissal of the staff and asked this reporter to speak with ‘appropriate’ office at the Lagos headquarters.

Further attempts to reach the Managing Director, Kayode Opeifa, via phone calls and WhatsApp messages were not responded to as of the time of filing this report.

Mustapha USMAN

Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M