Attacks, abductions, kidnappings and killings … that’s what passengers and drivers face every time the ride on the road to hell, the Maiduguri-Damaturu road.

A driver, who did not want to disclose his name, told RNI reporter Fatima Grema Modu about an attack on December 18 when one of his passengers lost her newborn baby. He said they were driving from Damaturu in Yobe State when the suspected Boko Haram insurgents attacked them.

“The government has to do something serious about the continual attacks by Boko Haram insurgents,” he said.

The driver said even soldiers did not go beyond Auno, Jakana and Gamdu even though they knew insurgents were on the road. He said he did not know how many passengers had been abducted but he said a colleague’s car had been stolen, a driver had been killed and a car had been set alight by Boko Haram insurgents.

Usman Aminami, a driver for Borno Express, said the insurgents were taking advantage of the poor state of the road from Jakana to Auno. “We cannot run faster than the insurgents because of potholes and that’s why many of us get killed every day on the Maiduguri-Damaturu road.”

Usman said had heard that some drivers had been shot and were being treated in hospital.

He said the Maiduguri-Damaturu road was used by businesses and to supply food items. He urged the government to secure the road.

Goni Kolo, a passenger, who is also the chairman of the Movement for Justice in Borno state, , said security agencies had claimed that the road was secure. He said people could not stop travelling because of the Boko Haram activities. He called on the people of Borno and Yobe to pay pray for peace and urged them to support the military.

Another passenger, Alhaji Kyari, told RNI that the road was terrifying and recently there had been an increase in attacks by jihadists.

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum visited the area last week. He said the military had failed to protect the lives and property of Nigerians and accused them of extorting commuters.