Middle East & Africa | Red line

Kidnappers brazenly attack a train in Nigeria

Parts of Africa’s most populous country are becoming ungovernable

|ABUJA

RAILWAY DELAYS are the bane of travellers the world over. Occasionally, though, they may be a lifesaver. In October your correspondent boarded a train from Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, to the northern city of Kaduna. A fault held up its departure for 30 minutes. This was just long enough that a train coming in the opposite direction was the first to trigger explosives placed on the track. Luckily, in that attack, the train limped on and nobody was hurt.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Red line”

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