Drivers using the Gamboru Ngala highway – the busiest commercial road in the north – are losing money because passengers are terrified that if they travel on the road they could be blown to pieces by an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by insurgents.

Bakari Ramat, a driver who uses that road frequently, told RNI reporter Nana Hadiza Mustapha that the highway was not safe.

“I frequently use the highway. It used to be safe but now we sometimes have to wait in Dikwa for three days before security personnel will allow us to continue.

“Recently a traveller’s car was blown up by an IED planted by insurgents. The driver died and one passenger is still in hospital. There was also a Sharon car and a truck loaded with goods that were blown up by insurgents’ explosives. One driver lost his leg.”

Ramat said if a car broke down on the road, insurgents immediately surrounded it and stole everything of worth.

He said the attacks were seriously affecting his business.

“Before, 20 to 30 cars would travel on that highway every day. Now there might be two or three and, even then, they are not full of passengers.”

He said after the highway was reopened for traffic in February, drivers had noticed a drop in the number of passengers. He blamed it on the IED blasts and the huge hike in prices of everything.

“The hike in goods has affected all of us. It’s not just the price in fuel, everything is more expensive these days. And it is the same in Gamboru.”

Another driver, Kalli Habib, said: “There’s no more peace on that road. It’s the same all over the country. We have the same challenges in Ngala. We have asked for more protection on that highway. The government needs to make it more secure.”

Hussaini Amadu said: “Just yesterday I used the highway. Now, not only do we have to worry about insecurity, but there are also big potholes in the road. At the moment our business is scraping through; we are just hoping things will improve.”

Borno State governor Babagana Zulum officially opened the 137km Maiduguri-Dikwa-Gamboru Ngala road in February. At the time he urged road users to be law abiding and to cooperate with security agencies to ensure that economic activities would return to the area.

The highway is the busiest commercial road linking the northeast to Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria. It was closed three years ago because of increased attacks on Dikwa, Mafa and Gamboru Ngala.

AISHA SD JAMAL