Osun Shall Rise Again (OSRA), a social and political organization, has demanded an investigation into the free train service that was provided to Osun natives traveling from Lagos to celebrate this year's Easter.

The group claimed that, in the absence of clear evidence that the free train services were provided, it was necessary to inform the people of Osun of what had taken place because the circumstances surrounding the operation of the train service last Thursday, as claimed by the government, suggested deceit and sharp practices by the project handlers.

The group claims that neither the facts nor the evidence suggested that free train service was provided in accordance with state tradition.

The organization stated, "We, therefore, express concern that there is the possibility that some individuals might have exploited the opportunity to corner the state resources in the name of free train service."

In a statement, OSRA's State Secretary and Chairman, Saheed Bakare, and Chairman, Lanre Akeju, said that their investigation showed that the train that arrived in Osogbo on Thursday had no passengers on board.

“We are compelled as a concerned social political organization working towards transparency in governance to call on Osun State Governor, Senator Nurudeen Ademola Adeleke Jackson to carry out a full-scale investigation of the departure of Easter free Train Service from Lagos and its subsequent arrival in Osogbo on Thursday 6th of April 2023 following the controversy that trailed the gesture.

“For the first time since 2010, the Osun state government began the free train service, this is the first time the train will come to Osogbo empty. It is a free service that always attracts crowds and sea passengers from the Ido terminal in Lagos till arrival in Osogbo.

“But for this year’s Easter, according to a video that emanated from the office of the governor, less than 10 people were sighted for an interview at Ido terminal for media interview which appeared like a stage-managed and arranged interview. To our surprise when a train suddenly appeared in Osogbo, no passenger was sighted.

“We have a strong conviction that the free train service during the Easter period was not offered and we suspect deceit and sharp practices either by the political heads or the bureaucrats that implemented the programme and we call for a full-scale investigation into the matter.

“The outcome of the investigation will help Governor Adeleke to prevent a repeat of the scenario because the programme usually attracts huge patronage both in Lagos and Osun and we wondered why that of the administration of Governor Adeleke would be different.”

The group also asked the governor to disclose the total contract sum of the ongoing Borehole projects in the 332 wards of the state and the status of the project in the 30 local government areas.