NRC retirees seek divine intervention over homes takeover

The struggle by Nigeria Railway Corporation retirees to recover their homes has dragged on for years following the demolition of the properties to pave the way for rail track construction. Despite the rebuilding of the houses, they are yet to be returned to their former occupants, OLASUNKANMI AKINLOTAN reports

For some of the elderly former railway workers who attended the Lagos press conference, recalling their lengthy struggle to retain the homes they had lived in for decades was an emotionally overwhelming experience.

They struggled to contain their emotions as National Chairman of their association, Segun Esan, at a press conference, recounted alleged injustices, evictions, prolonged court battles and the deaths of colleagues who did not live to see the dispute resolved.

Some were unable to hold back their tears but, seemingly mindful of the attention they were attracting, hastily wiped their faces, bowed their heads or looked down to hide their emotions.

Yet the tears conveyed a depth of suffering that words could scarcely express: the pain of elderly Nigerians who, after devoting their working lives to building the country’s railway system, now face the prospect of spending their remaining years without the comfort and security of a home.

Against this backdrop of grief and frustration, more than 50,000 former railway workers, represented by the Association of Nigeria Railway Senior Citizens, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in what they described as a 21-year battle over ownership of the Nigerian Railway Corporation staff quarters.

In March 2025, employees of the Nigeria Railway Corporation in Kano petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, over the alleged sale of their residential quarters by the management of the corporation’s commercial subsidiary, Nigeria Railway Properties Limited.

The employees alleged that NRP converted the residential quarters to private use after forcing the workers out of their homes.

The affected workers, represented by the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers and the Senior Staff Association of Communications Transport Corporation, urged the government to intervene in the dispute.

In a document obtained by our correspondent, the NRC staff accused the Zonal Manager of Nigerian Railway Property Limited, Kano, Timothy Zalanga, of complicity.

In a petition dated 10 January 2025, signed by Nathan Umid, and addressed to the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Kano State Government, the workers, through their solicitors, K. Magaji & Associates, accused the railway corporation’s management and its Northern District Manager in Kano of alleged “illegal, unlawful, inhumane and devastating actions of sales of homes” belonging to staff between 2006 and 2023.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Saturday, 31 October, the retirees accused successive NRC administrations of hindering the implementation of the Federal Government’s 2005 monetisation policy, which they said provided for the sale of government quarters to their lawful occupants, including eligible serving and retired employees.

Speaking to journalists, Olusegun Esan maintained that the association was not seeking special treatment but the enforcement of an existing government policy intended to provide housing security for public servants after retirement.

According to him, the monetisation policy was introduced in 2004/2005 to reduce the Federal Government’s financial burden of maintaining official quarters, vehicles and domestic staff, while transferring ownership of the houses to eligible occupants at affordable rates.

Quoting the relevant government directive, Esan said its objective was clear: “To convert all government quarters to owner-occupier basis by selling them to the legal occupants.”

He argued that the policy had been implemented in several federal institutions, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Ports Authority, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the judiciary.

He, however, questioned why railway workers had allegedly been left out of the policy.

“Today, judges and staff of the judiciary are proud owners of their former official quarters. Their workers have peace after retirement. And we wonder why the Nigeria Railway Corporation is different. Why are railway workers singled out for punishment by its own management?” he asked.

The association’s chairman accused successive NRC administrations of applying the policy selectively, claiming that while officials benefited from the monetisation of vehicles and furniture, retirees occupying railway quarters were denied the same privilege.

He alleged that management officials monetised official vehicles and furniture, collecting the benefits, but failed to extend the same implementation to retirees in respect of the houses they occupied, despite existing laws backing the policy.

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“This is selective justice. You cannot take your own vehicles and furniture under monetisation and deny the retirees their quarters under the same policy,” he said.

Beyond the alleged failure to implement the policy, Esan accused successive NRC managements of secretly selling or leasing some of the quarters to wealthy individuals and associates, while the original occupants were allegedly subjected to eviction.

He added that the development was particularly distressing because many of those affected were elderly people and widows who had nowhere else to turn after years of service.

He said the dispute had also dragged on for more than two decades due to prolonged litigation.

Esan recalled that on 6 January 2016, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, under its then President, Justice Babatunde Adejumo, delivered judgment in favour of the retirees in Suit No. NICN/LA/22/2011.

He said the court affirmed their entitlement to own the quarters under the Federal Government’s monetisation policy.

Instead of complying with the judgment, the NRC management appealed the ruling at the Court of Appeal, where the case has remained pending. A decade after filing the appeal, the retirees say they are still awaiting a final resolution of the case.

Esan said, “Instead of obeying that judgment, NRC Management in 2016 ran to the Court of Appeal and has kept the case there since the time. The aim of the management is simple: to frustrate us to death.

“Many of us have died. Many widows are now homeless.”

He explained that the corporation, during its more prosperous years, employed more than 50,000 workers across its northern, eastern, western and Lagos districts, adding that the consequences of the dispute extended to millions of family members.

The retirees appealed to God and also to Tinubu to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and the NRC Managing Director to discontinue the corporation’s appeal and commence the immediate implementation of the monetisation policy in line with the 2016 judgment.

They also demanded compensation and resettlement allowances for retirees and widows allegedly evicted without alternative accommodation; refunds of housing deductions from salaries and pensions since 2004; and the reversal of disputed sales, leases and allocations of the quarters to third parties.

Expressing appreciation to the President, Esan said, “We know that our President is a compassionate and just leader with a lot of respect for retirees. Nigerians have seen it. You wiped the tears of pensioners. That is why we believe you will hear us,” he said.

One of the most poignant moments at the conference came when the association took its appeal beyond the Presidency, seeking divine intervention.

Citing biblical and Quranic teachings against the oppression of widows and vulnerable persons, Esan said the retirees were turning to God for justice even as they continued to seek government intervention.

He cited Exodus 22:22-27, which warns against afflicting widows and orphans, and Quran 4:10, which condemns the unjust appropriation of the property of orphans.

The religious appeals reflected the desperation of an ageing group of citizens who feel that decades of dedicated service and years of legal battles have brought them little relief.

“We are not asking for favour we do not merit. We are asking for our right,” Esan declared.

The PUNCH made efforts to obtain a response from NRC officials, but these proved unsuccessful as calls and text messages sent to the corporation’s Chief Public Relations Officer, Callistus Unyimadu, seeking comments on the allegations, were not answered.