{"id":53455,"date":"2025-04-18T11:15:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-18T09:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/?p=53455"},"modified":"2025-04-18T11:15:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-18T09:15:17","slug":"drivers-and-passengers-demand-improved-security-after-deadly-landmine-blast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/drivers-and-passengers-demand-improved-security-after-deadly-landmine-blast\/","title":{"rendered":"Drivers and passengers demand improved security after deadly landmine blast"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commercial drivers, motorists and passengers urge the government to open highway, saying more traffic on the road might deter insurgents from planting deadly landmines.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A recent landmine attack on the Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu highway in Borno State, in Nigeria\u2019s northeast, has sparked widespread concern and calls for improved security measures.<\/p>\n

The attack, suspected of being carried out by the Jam\u0101\u2019at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da\u2019way Wa\u2019l-Jih\u0101d (JAS), more commonly referred to as Boko Haram, occurred on Saturday, April 12, and claimed the lives of eight people, injuring several others.<\/p>\n

The driver of the commercial bus \u2013 who also lost his life \u2013 drove over a concealed improvised explosive device, detonating it.<\/p>\n

Demands for improved security<\/strong><\/p>\n

Commercial drivers, motorists and passengers are urging the Borno State government and the military to implement adequate security measures and end the partial closure of the Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu highway.<\/p>\n

They believe that if the road were fully reopened for daily traffic of goods and people, there would be fewer landmine attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is frequent movement on the road, Boko Haram and ISWAP [Islamic State West Africa Provine] fighter will not get time to plant IRDs,\u201d one driver said.<\/p>\n

Drivers\u2019 concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n

Modu Manga and Bakura, two commercial drivers, said they were extremely concerned about the frequent attacks by insurgents on Borno\u2019s roads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe military\u2019s decision to open the road only twice a week allows insurgents to plant bombs and prepare for attacks on the days it is not open,\u201d Bakura said. \u201cInnocent people are dying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are appealing to the military to open the road fully for frequent movement, which will help reduce insurgent attacks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fear and panic among passengers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Passengers travelling on the highway said the latest attack had left them \u201cgripped with fear and panic\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ba Mala told Ndarason that he had travelled on the highway two days after the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though we were being escorted by military and other security operatives, we were terrified we might also drive over a planted landmine.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of us are seriously panicked by the attack. When we reached Molai town, our families and relatives started calling us to confirm that we were safe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Economic impact<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu highway is a vital road linking Maiduguri and local government areas in southern Borno, facilitating the movement of goods and traders.<\/p>\n

Alhaji Bukar Dalori, a trader who often travels on the Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu highway, emphasised the importance of the road for business activities and trading, despite the risks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Maiduguri-Damboa-Biu highway has been a death trap for many years due to incessant attacks … We often travel on this road even though it is one of the scariest roads. I was on this road just a few days after the attack. It is frightening because there have been frequent attacks and bomb blasts \u2013 and they seem to be escalating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dalori said the government had to balance security concerns with the need for economic activity and freedom of movement for its citizens.<\/p>\n

Government response<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Borno State government has urged the federal government and military to reopen the highway fully to allow the free movement of goods and passengers.<\/p>\n

Governor Babagana Umara Zulum visited the injured victims at the State Specialist Hospital in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State.<\/p>\n

He assured them that they would receive free medical care and he gave \u20a650,000 to each of the victims as compensation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is regrettable that it is happening at this time. Since last year or so, we have not witnessed an improvised explosive device attack. The road was closed for about one month and I believe this is one of the reasons the insurgents had the luxury of planting an IED,\u201d Zulum said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI urge the Nigerian military and other security agencies to beef up surveillance along the road so that such incidents do not happen again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The deadly blast occurred just days after Zulum held a special expanded security meeting to discuss the escalation of attacks by JAS and its offshoot, ISWAP.<\/p>\n

At the meeting, held on Tuesday, April 8, at State Government House in Maiduguri, Zulum conceded that the state was \u201closing ground\u201d to JAS and ISWAP.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shettima Lawan Monguno<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Commercial drivers, motorists and passengers urge the government to open highway, saying more traffic on the road might deter insurgents from planting deadly landmines. A recent landmine attack on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":53456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-peace-and-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53455"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53455"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53457,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53455\/revisions\/53457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ndarason.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}